Pokemon Dreams 01 - Annihilation
by ExuroUniverse
Summary: Zack Raines, a 14 year old from Nuvema Town leaves home to join the group known as 'The Saviors' as he fights 'Team Annihilation' and an undead army to save Unova and the world. (Rated T for Violence and some swearing.)
1. Chapter 1 Begin

POKÉMON DREAMS 01 ANNIHILATION

"….." Speech

" _Italic"_ Thought

" **What?"** Unknown

* * *

CHAPTER 01 BEGIN

 **200 years into the future Unknown location... a room similar to the start of my journey**

It all started when i joined the saviors. I wanted to become a... *sighs* to tell you the truth, I didn't know what I wanted. People dream of becoming a celebrity, an actor, a chef, being a parent or someone that could make a difference. a friend of mine once told me that not just people have dreams, but pokemon, they too have dreams.

All the friends I made...

All of those I lost to conflict...

Even those I love...

It all began when I was 14 years old.

My name is Zack Raines, and this is my story.

 **Unknown location and date**

"Y-y-you Bastards," He screamed "... y-you'll p-pay for this... ugh!" The man struggled to say as he was sitting down against a once white wall now soaked with blood to a shadowed man standing above him.

A dark cold house with blood spread all over the yellow flower wallpaper and 2 bodies both with a gunshot to the head lying out on the wooden floor near the entrance, perhaps they were trying to escape from the shadowed man but were unsuccessful.

The shadowed man with the gun stood high above the half-dead man still bleeding from multiple areas of his body. Looking down at the man with the glasses he smirked and shot the man right through the heart. As the glasses fell off his face and onto the floor breaking as it made contact with the hard wooden floor now covered in blood the shadowed man with the gun laughed a little and then spoke to him as if the man with glasses was still alive.

"Traitors will always be punished." he said with a smug look on his face. At that moment, he looked at me and then aimed the gun right at me and smiled.

 ***BLAM!***

"Gasps!" suddenly I woke up in bed with a cold sweat, my heart beating rapidly as I checked my surroundings. After relaxing a little I lied back down on my bed and looked up at the ceiling for a while before trying to close my eyes again to rest some more, that is until I checked my alarm clock on the desk next to my bed.

"Hmm?….8:17...the laboratory opens at 9:00, better get going now." I got up from my bed and walked over to my window. I never did like waking up on a day I had to go out, it always left me wanting to go back to sleep.

As I looked outside I noticed sitting on the tree branch near the group of trees outside the house was a lone Pidove eating something, but I couldn't tell what it was eating from here.

After a while it then flew off into the dark cloudy distance, perhaps it was going to rain sometime soon *Alright!*

My room had the basic things a normal teen had, a computer desk with an ok but workable computer, a wardrobe with clothing and boxes full of personal items such as Money and comic books.

My bed was a navy blue single size with a few scratches at the end of the bed, the floor of the room was wooden and I had an artwork of a city at night (Goldenrod I believe because of the radio tower.) hung on the wall near the door of the room, not sure where i got that from or who gave it to me. On my computer desk besides the computer was a Katana, a real sharp Katana instead of the display ones you see online, how I got that…well I bought it with my own money (it was cheap) an old man was selling some things before he moved away, as I was walking home I noticed it, the Katana. I had always wanted one ever since I was a kid, not to randomly strike at the air or at people or Pokemon hell no, I wanted it because I liked the look of them and the size.

The time was now 8:24 after looking at the alarm clock. "I better get going now, I don't want to be late today." I said to myself slightly excited and mostly nervous.

Quickly I walked over to my desk near the window that had my clothes for my Pokemon journey and my bag, the bag was dark blue and had a fire emblem on it. Despite my hatred for hot weathers and humid weather, I didn't mind if it had an image of fire or not the bag did look good looking.

I packed it with a lot of provisions such as Potions, Antidotes and food for me and my Pokémon. It was a good thing I saved up over the years so I could get a good head start for the journey.

I now left the room wearing my dark blue pants, black boots, blue shirt, blue jacket with the sleeves rolled up, black gloves and blue hat, this was the first time ever wearing my new clothes. I was so excited to go out into the world of Pokémon. Making new friends and see new places all that kind of adventure I guess.

I entered the kitchen noticing my mother and sister. my sisters name is Yuri, she is 8 years old, wears a yellow dress and has black hair, my mother has brown hair and wears a blue dress mostly, Yuri and my mother where looking at me smiling.

"Are you sure about leaving? You can always go next year." I just smiled and held my mother's hand.

"No, I want to go this year. Besides I can't achieve my dreams by staying here huh?" My mother hugged me so tight. I could tell she was going to be worried about me after I had left.

"I'll be alright, I've got everything I need so don't worry."

"Here I made you some sandwiches, and I got a few apples from the apple tree outside." My mom passed me them one by one as i placed them inside my bag.

"Now Yuri, you take good care of mom, understand?"

"Yeah alright I will." Yuri was just standing there smiling crossing her arms looking bored until she walked over to me and hugged me only for a few seconds, didn't feel like a tearful goodbye hug, it felt more like a get going hug.

My hands were shaking as I turned the handle of the front door, I was now leaving my home for whoever knows how long for.

"Bye, I'll contact you once I reach the first Pokémon Center!"

"Bye Zack! be safe!" Both of them where waving goodbye from the front garden as I walked down the road in the direction of the laboratory.

I ran down the road until it reached the cliff side, as I got there I could hear the waves crashing against the cliff. In my younger years I always walked this way…mostly by myself.

Pidove's flew right past me startling me a little but the sunrise was a nice start to the day then I noticed the billboard, it said…

"Don't forget, Fathers day is almost here, sh…y…..lov…t….DAY!." The sign was fading, I looked at it for a while first I was calm and happy but seeing that sign made me sad and angry, looking at that sign almost made me remember that terrible day about my dad.

"Hmph!" I quickly turned away from the fading sign and walked back in the direction of the lab.

As I was walking I began to remember what I wrote in my journal yesterday:

 **Journal Entry 01 Begin**

"My name is Zack Raines…hmm…I am 14 years old, I have long black spiky hair up to my neck, uh…and blue eyes (Sorry, I didn't know how to write a journal, but I guess this will be alright, its not like anyone is going to read this except for me…)"

("Why did I write that part in my journal? *Sighs*")

"…and tomorrow I will start my Pokémon journey. I have a choice of one of three starter Pokémon, Tepig a fire type, Snivy a Grass type and Oshawott a water type. One of those three will help me achieve my dream, to become a member of The Saviours.

"The Saviours are a group of people that travel throughout the world to help other people with problems or to save them from danger, (kinda like the police but…at a higher rank) they travel with their Pokémon to assist them with their missions."

"They are also trying to find their rivals Team Annihilation."

"Team Annihilation are a group of terrorists running around Unova killing and or injuring not only Pokémon but people young and old. No one knows where they are located or even what the leader looks like, Yeah joining The Saviours may seem dangerous and all but I want to become member so that I could become a hero, I know it may seem as if it's a ridiculous thing but it is my dream, I don't want to join them because of that, its just saving people and Pokémon that needed saving, just trying to make a difference in the world."

"I have no interest on becoming a Pokémon Master, all they do is sign autograph after autograph and battle to hold their place year after year."

"The reason I stayed at home until I was 14 is because I wanted to be mature enough to leave this place, i studied a lot to become a member of The Saviours and all I need to do now is go to the front desk in Castelia city and hand in my acceptance form and await further instructions or something like that (I don't listen much, wow I bet I'll be the best member yet(!).), the journey would take me a few days to get there but at least the walk wouldn't be lonely, I would be with my Pokémon starter getting stronger together."

"4 Years…It was a long wait but I will be ready for tomorrow."

As soon as I stopped thinking about the journal I felt more nervous, every step I got closer to the lab, my entire body started shaking, I clenched my hands and continued walking down the path.

 _"The only way to achieve my dream is to move forward, not backwards. Staying here won't do anything, I gotta do this."_ I thought as I walked past trail while stepping on the dead leaves.

The laboratory was now within my sight, I felt like running but I changed my mind quickly. The outside was so quiet and no one was in sight, the cold wind made me feel uneasy like I was being watched or something but I knew that was silly.

After attempting to open the front door I realised within a few seconds of puling that the laboratory was locked.

"Huh? Locked? But it opens at 09:00, huh?…8:47...ugh!… I said in an angry tone.

 _"…oh Come on!"_ I thought slightly annoyed that I arrived when the lab would open. "Should of stayed at home for 5 minutes, now I'm gonna have to be staying out here in the cold…hey who am I talking to?" I said quietly to myself.

I never did liked waiting, I was the type of guy to get things done and out of the way on time without waiting much.

It was now 8:52 and I was sitting on the steps with my head resting on my left arm leaning on my leg, the waiting was annoying and cold, just as I was about to daydream about something better than this a green car stopped in front of the lab, I noticed it was a woman exiting her car and trying to pick up some boxes, she seemed to have some difficulty trying to pick even one of them up.

 _"Huh? That woman…is she Professor Juniper? I should go and help her….yeah."_

"Um excuse me, do you need help carrying those?" I said.

"Hm? Can you handle it?." she asked before smiling at me.

I grabbed the box the woman was carrying, the box was very heavy and was giving me some trouble, but it was ok.

"Yeah no prob…" I said trying to stop the sharp corners from stabbing me.

She closed the car door and locked it. I walked over to the lab entrance along with her.

"Are you here for your starter Pokémon?" she spoke as she continued looking forward.

"Yes…ma'am..."

"I spoke to your mother Zack, she told me that you would arrive early" she now looked at me as the entrance was closer to us.

"Huh? You know my name?." I asked keeping my eye on the laboratory door.

"Your mother and I go way back since childhood. She and I are really good friends. Zack how long have you been waiting for?" Juniper asked with an interested tone in her voice.

"Uh I arrived at 8:47." I said to the professor.

"Well zack, since you arrived first you can choose a starter Pokémon of your choice first."

"F-first? Are others starting today?" I asked her as she rummaged through her pockets for the laboratory front entrance keys.

"Yes, only you and two siblings from Blackthorn City, maybe all of you could travel together." she said smiling at me.

I never thought about travelling with others before, maybe this journey won't be so bad after all, but I was glad it wasn't anyone I knew from Nuvema Town, I didn't like any of them.

The professor opened the laboratory and let me inside.

It was warm and brightly lit, the walls where white and the floors where wooden, I placed the box down right behind the desk as Professor Juniper told me to place it, as she walked down a corridor while switching the lights on as she passed.

On the other side of the desk I saw 2 teenagers enter the lab together, it was probably the siblings the professor was talking about, a boy with brown hair to the shoulder, red shirt and blue pants, he had a look as almost as if he where saying look at me and I will hurt you, I knew a lot of people like from school, I always stayed away from those types. The girl had brown short hair up to her neck, she had a black shirt on with a black skirt, she had ear piercings of a Pokémon (Ho-oh possibly or maybe Lugia) she was smiling a little and was looking around the lab like her brother did. She was very attractive so I looked away trying not to start an argument with the brother, it had happened twice, I looked at a girl and the brother would appear and tell me…

"Hey kid?" a male voice yelled out, yeah it was me.

"Huh?" I looked over until…a paper ball was hit my face.

"Got him" the girl said to her brother whilst clapping.

"Ah! What the hell was what for?" I asked with a little anger in my voice.

Both of the siblings laughed at the same time, now my liking for the girl went down to 0...it was like school all over again.

"Grow up." (Immature…*sighs* never mind!) I spoke out again hoping that they would just end this thing already but nope, they didn't…

"Hey grow up(!)" the boy imitated me. Both of them where now laughing like idiots, I mean come on who laughs like that?

I just leaned my arm on the desk and tried to ignore them, the more they where talking about me and trying to speak to me the more I felt like kicking each one of them out of the window and thinking of a backup story when the professor returned asking why the window had broken.

I had this happen to me many times in my life when some moron would pick on me and push me to the ground, I hardly had any friends…no I only had one. I didn't know why they treated me like I was nothing, sometimes I was ignored and pushed around but never in a serious fight, but I did get the urge to unleash my anger at the next person that would try to make me angry or sad, I hated it when I saw others get picked on, but like every time…I was too frightened to do anything, so I was always backing down or running away.

The professor walked out of the corridor with a small box of three Poké balls, 3 badge cases and 3 PokéDex.

"Okay ready to begin?" she said as she placed the box on the desk. The Professor entered the room with three Poké balls.

"First welcome to the world of Pokémon, after you have chosen your starter I will give you 5 Poké balls, a Pokédex and a badge case, I will explain to everyone what a Pokédex is for and…"

"Oh c'mon, everyone knows what a Pokédex is for, man! Heard it a billion times already!" Looking back I noticed the boy with a smug look on his face, with his sister nodding.

"Hey let her finish her speech alright?" I quietly said to him.

"Shut up…" the boy replied still looking at the Poké balls.

The boy was now crossing his arms, Professor Juniper continued explaining how Pokéballs work, Ailments, type advantages and disadvantages, Potions and evolutions.

After she finished talking then held one of the Poké balls and threw in the air.

"Here is Tepig a fire type Pokémon" she said. The Pokémon came out of its Pokéball, the light finally disappearing revealing the Pokémon.

"Tep Tepig." it said while running around in circles, it stopped and fell to the floor.

This was the first time I ever saw a starter this close before and I was so excited to be choosing one, the only time I ever saw starter Pokémon was at a circus once with my family.

"Here is Snivy a Grass type" the professor said as she reached down for the next one and threw it in midair.

The light disappeared now revealing a Snivy, the Snivy was now standing right next to Tepig crossing its arms while smiling.

"Sn…ivy…." The Snivy said, it sounded like it was tired, also under its eyes were black…yup tired.

"And now we have Oshawott a water type" she said as she grabbed the final ball and threw it high into the air.

The light surrounding the Pokémon vanished revealling the water type ppoemon called Oshawott. The Oshawott was waving at everyone in the room, even towards the other starters as they both smiled and waved back.

"Osha Oshawott" it said with a happy smile upon its face.

Just as anyone said anything the boy next to me then pushed me aside and yelled out.

"Alright I choose…" but before the boy could say any one of the starters…

"Hold it Henry." Professor Juniper stopped Henry from getting any closer to the Pokémon.

Henry looked at the professor confused.

"What is it this time?" he said slightly angrily. The professor pointed towards me but still looking at Henry.

"Zack got here first and I told him he could choose before anyone else."

"What? He entered the lab after us, we didn't see him a the lab first!"

I could tell they where angry, I just looked the other way crossing my arms trying to ignore the argument.

"Ok Zack, you can choose now" Professor Juniper said with a hint of happiness present in her voice.

I turned towards the Pokémon and each one of them where looking happily at me, then the idiot approached me.

"Hey you better not chose the one I want or else."

"I can choose whatever I want, and if I pick the Pokémon you wanted, too bad for you, go with plan B!" Henry was groaning but stayed quite

 _"Hmm lets see a Snivy, Tepig or Oshawott…man this is tough whatever Pokémon I choose will be the one to help me achieve my dream, together we will grow stronger and see new places and make new friends, which one should I choose?…I know, I have decided."_

Professor Juniper turned to me "Have you decided?"

"I choose Oshawott" I said looking at Oshawott.

"Oshawott!" The Oshawott cheered happily before receiving praise from the other starters.

Oshawott smiled and was jumping up and down a lot. I walked over to the table and picked the little guy up.

Professor Juniper gave me Oshawott's Pokéball, the 5 Pokéballs, the Pokédex and the badge case.

"Thank you Professor, ill be leaving now."

"Oh don't you want me to explain how a Pokédex works?"

"No thank you, I know they record Pokémon information, what moves they have ya know."

"Okay Zack good luck, goodbye Oshawott take care."

"Oshawott." Oshawott waved towards the professor as we both headed towards the exit of the lab. But as we were leaving I could heard Henry talk to his sister about Oshawott

"Thank god he chose that Pokémon, would've kicked it out of my team the first chance I got a new Pokémon, wouldn't care if it cried or not"

"Yeah what type of trainer would want that water type? your Snivy could easily beat it."

I noticed Oshawott looking back and then turned towards the door, his eyes where tearing up, I quickly walked outside trying to get away from those idiots.

I put Oshawott down gently and patted his head gaining his attention.

"Osha…"

"Hey Oshawott, never listen to people like that okay? There the ones that are…"

"Hey!" I looked over and noticed Henry and Heather where standing behind me.

 _"These guys again? What do they want now?"_ heather got her Tepig out of her Pokéball and yelled out

"How about if all three of us battle one another?"

"Yeah, the looser must fork out 2000 cash each to the winner, that's 4000 cash, not bad huh?" I didn't have 2000, I only had 1100, that was enough to last for a while I wasn't pretty much of a gambler.

"I don't have 2000" I was expecting one of them to get angry or threaten me.

"Those that don't pay up…we will steal your bag then."

"No way, I'm out of here"

" _What's with me? Never stood up for myself like that..."_ I was about to pick up Oshawott until Henry spoke again.

"Okay how about the losers give all their money they have to the winner then?"

Okay so these two wanted to bet all of their money…well I accepted without thinking if I lost or not, and besides this was the first time battling.

"Okay Oshawott lets do this ok?"

"Oshawott!" Oshawott nodded and all three of us made like a triangle shape, heather picked up a stone she found on the floor.

"Okay, when the stone drops the battle begins" Heather held the stone with her thumb and index finger.

Heather brought out her Tepig and Henry brought out Snivy, Oshawott got in position, heather threw the stone in midair and all three of us watched as the stone hit the floor starting the battle, Heather was the first to call out an attack.

"Tepig use Tackle on Snivy!" Tepig ran quickly at Snivy ready to attack

"Dodge it Snivy and tackle Tepig." Tepig missed Snivy by a second and Snivy Tackled Tepig the second it missed.

"Alright I knew this Pokémon would be the best one" Henry gave a smug smile to his sister and then looked at his Snivy.

I was looking at which Pokémon I could attack trying to get a good strategy.

"I _f I take down Snivy first, then Oshawott can take care of Tepig, lets plan this carefully, I should use tackle against Snivy."_ I was about to order a command until Henry's Snivy was running at Oshawott with tackle,

"Oshawott Dodge!"

"Osha!" Oshawott quickly evaded Henry's Snivy last attack and had his scalchop held with both paws.

"Tepig tackle Oshawott now!" Heather immediately yelled out loud as she gave Tepig a command.

" _What? Hey there teaming up, damn it! I knew they would try something like that."_ I thought out loud as I watched both Pokémon running towards Oshawott. Oshawott got up and was looking at Tepig running up to Oshawott very fast.

"Oshawott dodge to the left!" Oshawott quickly dodged out of the way but Snivy was also running towards him.

"Oshawott defend!" Oshawott got his Scalchop and defended himself from the attack

"Ok Oshawott use Tackle!" Oshawott Tackled Snivy sending Snivy almost at it Henry.

"What the? Snivy get up!" Heather was surprised at Oshawott's Power and told Tepig to tackle Oshawott trying to help her brother, before I could make a command Oshawott's Scalchop glowed forming a blue beam from the Shell.

"Osha!" Tepig was Knocked out in one hit rolling to the ground, heather ran towards Tepig and put it back in the Pokéball.

"How did Oshawott learn Razor Shell already?" I asked myself. _"Razor Shell? I thought Oshawott's learned that move later on."_

Henry told Snivy to use Tackle on Oshawott, Snivy was getting closer towards Oshawott, Oshawott looked back at me ready for the finishing move that would end the battle.

"Oshawott use Razor Shell!" Oshawott waited until Snivy got close and got his Scalchop.

"Oshawott!" It was a direct hit sending Snivy out of the grass field, when snivy hit the ground it was rolling fast on the ground.

Henry and Heather ran over to Snivy.

"Snivy come on get up! Come on we can still win this…Snivy? C'mon… ugh!" Henry grunted in disbelief that he lost in a two on one battle he thought he could win.

"Hey Oshawott we won" I cheered not realising the two siblings were already glaring at me and Oshawott.

"Osha Oshawott" Oshawott turned towards me waving as he ran up to me.

"Alright! Nice work Oshawott." I knelt down in front of Oshawott as he approached me

"Oshawott wott!" Oshawott said while jumping up and down with a big smile.

Staring over towards the siblings, that is when i noticed the two siblings glaring at me as they stood together clenching their fists.

"You cheated! Cheater!" Yelled heather standing next to her brother.

"Yeah! I mean c'mon, who uses a TM straight away on a starter Pokemon when they can easily learn them later?What a cheater." Henry said with a smug look.

I just stood there with my arms crossed in confusion.

" _Uh, seriously?"_ I thought to myself trying to keep calm

"I'm not a cheater; remember it's my first time battling so how am I cheating? Well that is one way to say you are jealous of our victory."

"Shut up! Who the hell would want an overpowered freak of a Pokémon anyway?" henry yelled as he recalled his Pokémon back into the ball.

The two ran away from Zack laughing, Oshawott was looking down in sadness.

"Osha…" Oshawott began to tearing up.

"Hey, pay no attention to them." I said as I placed my hand on Oshawott's head and began to pet him. "They're just jealous that they lost to …but when did you learn Razor Shell? Did you learn it at the lab or was it at that place where starter Pokémon are bred?"

Oshawott shook his head and spoke in his language, like that helped.

"Oshawott Osha Oshawott wott Osha OshaWott." at that last "Wott" he pointed at me.

Maybe he learnt the move in battle with those rich morons. Well at least Oshawott has more moves than just tackle and tail whip. Razor shell could come in handy.

"Uh…I'm going to need a translator here, well anyway we should go, Accumula Town is next." I got Oshawott's Pokéball from my belt so I could put him inside.

"Oshawott Osha!" Oshawott said as he ran up to my hand holding his pokeball

"Hm? You don't want to go inside?" I asked confused to why Oshawott was pushing the ball away.

Oshawott jump up on my bag and went on my left shoulder.

"Oshawott!"

"So you want to stay there huh? Okay then. Let me introduce myself, my name is Zack Raines, I'm sure we'll be great friends, huh?"

"Oshawott" Oshawott waved his arms around happily

"My dream is to become a member of The Saviors…it's a way I can become a hero…it's a long way but I know I'll make it, want to help me achieve my dream?"

"Osha Oshawott."

"Okay, let's go."

I then looked over at the road and began to walk over to the Towns edge.

I noticed Oshawott looking around the Town, it was like he hadn't seen the outside in a long time, I check my watch and it was now 10:14 AM, I could make it to Accumula Town in an hour If I hurry but I wanted to see more Pokémon in the forest, I hardly ever went into the forest ever since another road was built around it, the road was noisy so the forest path was the way I would be going. I reached the towns edge and looked back, I watched my hometown for a while. And then turned around until…

"Huh? Whoa!" I was getting hugged by Latias, I wasn't expecting her to appear like that.

"Lah!" She cheered loudly.

"Uh? Oh hey Latias." I said whilst Latias hugged me.

Latias was smaller than the average Latias size, she was only 12 years old but her age in Pokémon years was a teen, a few more years and she'll be an adult.

Latias had been my friend ever since I first found her injured right outside the house. She was 4 years old at the time while i was 6. She didn't act like a child at first, she was stubborn. After we had healed her up, I asked my mom if I could look after her, let her stay with us, she agreed. The first few weeks with her were rough, but in the end she opened up to me more, and we became such great friends.

"Huh?" Latias had her Pokéball with her and was giving me it.

"You want to go along with us?"

"Lahlah" she said in excitement.

"Okay, you can come. Latias this is Oshawott my starter Pokémon." Latias was waving at Oshawott. Oshawott greeted Latias with a smile and had his face became red earning a slight giggle from Latias.

"Uh…well anyway lets go." I placed Latias's Pokéball on my belt, it was a Master Ball with a white L sticker placed above the opening. I forgot why I placed that L symbol on Latias' Pokeball. I found the Master ball a year after Latias fainted just right outside my house. The master ball was in the forest near Nuvema town. I usually walked there just to think about things or to draw the town from the hill.

After stroking her long soft neck I remembered meeting her for the first time. Just trying to give her a bath always made my clothes wet no matter how much water was used, she would always splash water everywhere. She was always picky about what she ate… especially what I gave her. What was wrong with the apples I gave her, trust issues probably?

The first few weeks were rough but after trying to save her from a group of kids pulling her ears and throwing things at her she realized that I was trying to be friendly to her. Without realizing it she… protected me from them, then after that we became great friends.

I'm just glad that I had made a great friend in my childhood. If it wasn't for her back then… maybe I would've held back on my journey. My childhood was bad before I met Latias. I was constantly bullied for a reason I didn't know why. Teachers looked the other way whenever it happened… I guess you could say it was just bad luck or something.

I had 2 friends along on my journey and together our adventure had just begun.

 **Meanwhile at Team Annihilation HQ**

A doctor walks into a dark room towards an old man, bald with a black suit looking outside the window.

"Doctor" the old man spoke" How is Subject 1008? Did it survive?"

"No sir, the subject died minutes after subject 1001 cut open its neck." The doctor was male, mid 30s with short brown hair, and was wearing glasses.

"Oh, how disappointing... Dispose of the body immediately."

"Yes sir." The doctor turned and walked to the door.

"By the way, what is the location for Subject 1002?" the old man spoke as he continued to look outside the large window.

The doctor turned back reaching for a strange small device and pressed a few buttons. While waiting the old man turned towards doctor with an angry expression on his face.

"Well doctor?" he asked in a calm voice.

"Subject 1002 is on the move sir, why do you ask?" the doctor looked up at the old man while he walked up to him.

"Keep observing it for the moment, may as well since the machine is oh how ready doctor?" the old man said as he stared at him awaiting a response.

"Uh I…its 99.1% complete…" before he had time to react the old man grabbed the doctor by his lab coat and pushes him against the wall.

"6 damn years that computer has been on for, and I have been very patient up until this very point…tell me how long left!" he yelled at the doctor while trying to remain calm. "The Saviors…they are getting in my way and they are getting so close to us I can feel it! I do not know who to trust anymore I can't even walk down my own hallways without a bullet proof vest or a gun in my pocket because that's how unsafe I feel." The man let go of the doctor as he was now tiptoed to the window, he stayed at the side thinking that there was an assassin with a sniper awaiting for a clear shot.

"Sir the glass is bullet proof, not even the strongest of weapons could make a dent or even a scratch on that glass. Not even a legendary could-."

"Legendaries hmm? I once knew a legendary. How long doctor… h-how until it is ready?"

"10 months sir, then the machine is operational." The doctor replied after he adjusted his glasses. The old man sat down in his chair by his desk with both hands on his head. The doctor sighed and walked away to continue his work on the machine.

" _Good, once this machine is working, no one will ever stop me. I can recreate this poor sad corrupt world in my image."_ He thought while he starred in the dark corner of the office a Charizard with multiple wounds both deep and large starring back at him with an emotionless expression on the outside but on the inside was pure hatred for the man starring back at him.

To be continued...

* * *

Trivia:

The first battle between Zack, Henry and Heather was based on the first battle with Cheren and Bianca at the beginning of Pokémon Black and White.

 **My first story, it's a little clunky i know but at least it's a start. I'll sort out the problems some other time.** **More chapters soon for those who are interested in this, if you don't want to read anymore then sorry for wasting your time.**

 **Please leave a review and thanks for reading.**

 **Until next time.**

I do not own Pokémon as it is owned by Nintendo.

 **The story and original characters were created by ExuroUniverse.**


	2. Chapter 2 Real or Not

POKAYEMON DREAMS 01 – ANNIHILATION

"Gotcha!" Speech

" _What is she talking about?_ " Thought

" **Who are you?"** Unknown

Found Potion! Narration

* * *

CHAPTER 02 REAL OR NOT

I thought about a lot of things…

Like why I never had any friends beside Latias. And why I was afraid… afraid of being alone. I think it was because of my younger years as a child…

A child version of me was standing in front of me. Same red shirt, wearing black pants and the same black shoes as my older self. His hair was shorter than mine but still spiky.

The scene changed from a white empty world to a school, a class room from the looks of it. Outside of the window it was sunny, with a blue sky and some clouds moving slowly through the sky. Outside of the room I could hear children laughing and running around, an announcement was made on the speaker thing… something about going home or something, it sounded like home… or was it tome? Dome? I don't know. Looking back to my younger self, he was drawing something while sitting down. I did mention in the last chapter that I wasn't much of an artist but hey, a kids drawing isn't that good to begin with.

Walking over standing behind him I could recognize the drawing, it was an Oshawott holding an apple instead of a Scalchop. I think I remember now. Oshawott's were my favorite of any starter for a trainer, I planned to get one when I was young. The other kids said I wouldn't get there, that my life is meaningless, someone who would get in everyone's way. I had no friends except for Latias who liked me for some reason. At first I thought it was her feeling sorry for me or that she actually liked me for who I was.

Suddenly I woke up from my dream.

"Oshawott Osha!" Oshawott shouted slightly shaking a little, probably trying to wake me up.

I opened my eyes to see Oshawott looking at me with a worried look.

"Huh? Hmm…it was just a dream…" I said still half asleep.

"Osha Oshawott?" he said after holding on to my hand with both of his paws.

"I'm alright," I smiled "it was just, a weird dream."

"Osha…"Oshawott didn't seem to be convinced but decided to let it go. Oshawott walked over to my shoulder bag and crawled inside to stay warm. Yesterday I… uh, was lost. I was still at route one but since a random storm approached we slept inside a small cave we found near the cliff edge. The cave inside was small, moist and warm. I forgot to take a sleeping bag with me so… I fucked up… *sighs*, I got lost in route one, slept in a cave without a sleeping bag and my food was eaten (Latias ate it.).

I noticed Latias' Pokéball to my left. Picking it up, I noticed that the ball was empty. Looking around the area I couldn't see Latias inside or outside the cave. Oshawott noticed me looking around.

"Hey Oshawott" I asked looking back at him. "Do you know where Latias is?"

"Oshawott." He said shaking his head.

"Must be wandering around…" I muttered before getting up. Oshawott got out of the bag and walked towards the caves entrance. Walking behind him I reached the caves entrance and searched past the trees hoping to catch a glimpse of Latias... nothing.

Walking to the path with Oshawott in front I thought of the worst things that could happen to Latias. A Latias is rare Pok émon, especially in the Unova region.

" _Where is she?" I_ asked in my mind. _"I have told her not to go and wander off like that, especially in a forest. *Sighs* if anything happens to her… what do I-"_

"Osha!" Oshawott called out while pointing ahead towards the trees. Kneeling down to Oshawott's level I said "What is it Oshawott?"

Oshawott ran towards the direction he pointed, I quickly followed. Oshawott was ahead of me by 5 steps, for a little Pokémon he was running fast. Perhaps Latias was playing again, pretends to be gone but when you least expect it she appears in front of you trying to scare you. That has happened on occasions when me and Latias walked around the forest near Nuvema she would use her uh… invisibility ability, um… something about using the light to make her invisible I don't know. She would vanish and try to scare me, playfully of cause but she

10 minutes had passed by the forest was very quiet, the only thing that could be heard was the river nearby.

"Oshawott any signs of Latias?"

"Oshawott….osha?"

"Oshawott is something wrong?" I asked. Oshawott ran forward waving at me to follow him. We ran out of the trees towards a road. Over the distance I noticed smoke, it was very faint, like someone had set up camp, probably last night or set up recently. Instead of using the road Oshawott ran towards the trees. Maybe Oshawott was using the trees so we wouldn't be seen?

Oshawott slowly came to a stop and looked up at me and pointed out of the trees. I knelt down beside Oshawott. Quietly I moved a small branch out of the way to see a small campsite. The campsite was small. One the left was a sleeping bag with something inside, I couldn't make it out from where I was. The campfire was still set aflame cooking something inside the pot hanging above. That was when I noticed the girl, the girl looking at Latias. Latias was staring back at a young girl also staring at Latias, the girl had short black hair up to her neck, black shorts with a black belt, red shirt with a pokéball symbol on the chest, a sweater was wrapped around her waist, and she was wearing black sneakers with white lace. Beside her was a Minccino standing right next to her, it didn't seem threatening but I didn't want to take that chance.

"W-what Pok émon are you?" the girl asked as if she was expecting a response.

"Latias, Hey!" I shouted as I ran out of the bushes with Oshawott quickly catching up. Latias turned around and charged towards me and hugged me.

"Laaa! Laa!"

"Latias, you shouldn't be wandering off by yourself." I said to her as she nuzzled her head onto my chest, but she didn't seem to listen to me.

"Is this Pokémon yours?" the girl said as she slowly walked up to me.

"Y-yeah." I said with a small hint of shyness in my voice.

I wasn't really much of a talker. Heck, if it was someone else talking to me for long periods of time… all of my responses would be either:

01\. "Yeah."

02\. "Okay…"

03\. "No."

04\. "Excuse me?"

05\. "Bye!"

06\. "Right…"

"What Pokémon is it?" she asked staring at Latias again.

"A Latias…" I said "Latias' are female Pokémon; um… they are native to the Hoenn region." _"Or was it the Johto region?" I_ thought.

"If you'd like you're more than welcome to sit with us." The girl offered us a seat at her camp where her Pokémon was sitting eating something, a berry from the looks of it.

"Uh… y-you wouldn't mind?" I asked stuttering a little.

She shook her head. "My name is Sakura Kanai, and this is my friend Minccino." She smiled as her Minccino looked up and waved at us. "Minccino and I have been best friends ever since my mom gave her to me on my 10th birthday."

Oshawott walked over to Minccino and noticed the Minccino standing in front of him was female. After that he slightly blushed and smiled and greeted her. "Osha…." He said.

Sitting down near the fire, Latias rested beside me with her head on my lap. Sakura sat to the right of us.

"My name is Zack Raines" I began, "That's Oshawott, he's my starter Pokémon and this is Latias, we only just started our journey yesterday."

"You too huh?" she said "so… are you going to collect gym badges and competing in the Unova league?"

"No…" shaking my head I looked back at her "I'm going to join the saviors."

She looked up at me and asked, "The saviors?"

"That's right." I nodded. "Why do you want to join them?" she asked. I paused there for a moment thinking of what to say.

"Well, I want to do something good with my life. Not to become a celebrity for defeating a champion and finally becoming one. I want to make a difference in this world, to… become a hero maybe." " _Ugh back out now!" I_ thought quickly realizing how lame that sounded.

"A h-hero? Oh yeah… Saviors are known for their heroic work." She said before smiling.

"Uh…" _"C'mon talk to her! Tell her about her starter Pokémon. Stop being a statue and Talk!"_ After scratching my head I asked Sakura…"So, uh…is Minccino your starter pokemon?"

"I have had Minccino ever since I was young. I didn't want to feel greedy before I started my journey." She looked up at me after throwing some old paper into the fire "Did you find Latias just now?"

"No, Latias has been with me ever since I was young." As I looked over at Latias who had just levitated up from her space to grab some apples from a nearby tree. She pulled a few apples off a branch and levitated down towards us.

"Lah?" she handed me a red apple. "Thank you Latias." I said. Latias smiled and passed the other apples to Sakura, Oshawott and Minccino. Latias rested her head on my lap while eating her half eaten apple.

"So where are you headed?" I asked.

"I don't know…gyms are not my thing so I…I'll have time to think about what I want to do. Hey, um...Zack? Do you mind if I go with you?"

"Uh…s-sure I guess, I mean I don't mind…" Looking down at the fire I thought… _"She's going to leave anyway… it's not like she's going to follow me much anyway… they're all the same…"_

We ate our apples and waited by the fire a little to get warm. Looking up at the sky I noticed the clouds were getting darker. Not that it was getting late but it looked like a storm was on its way…cool. Sakura also noticed the clouds and immediately got up.

"Minccino! C'mon we're going now." She quickly said.

"Minccino!" Minccino said as she climbed inside Sakura's bag. Her tail started to move around inside of it. Grabbing Latias' pokéball I returned her inside then stood up. The fire was now gone and the clouds in the sky was getting darker by the second.

Oshawott ran towards me and jumped up on my left shoulder.

"Accumula is just past this road. If we hurry we can make it." Sakura seemed to panic as smaller drops of rain began to fall.

"Sakura, is everything-" I attempted to reach out to her but then she screamed;

""I don't like it!" she shouted shocking me. Silence surrounded us.

Minccino looked up at her trainer from her bag with a sad look. Sakura seemed as if she was afraid. Why was she scared of the rain?

"I-I'm sorry…" she looked up at me. "I-I-I shouldn't have shouted at you like that…"

"No it's alright." Scratching my head I stared at the ground, and then looked back up at the clouds in the sky. I looked over at Sakura and said…"C'mon, let's run to the Pokémon center then."

"Huh?"

"Let's go." I ran up to her and grabbed her hand as we ran to Accumula. We both ran as fast as we could, Sakura was holding her bag with Minccino inside tightly while Oshawott was holding onto the strap of my bag. The clouds were getting darker but we finally made it to Accumula seconds before the rain began. The center was on the right side of the town so we continued running until we entered the center doors as it opened for us. The center was bright and clean. On the left was a large window with a couple of chairs and next to it.

In the corner was a vending machine for drinks and another for snacks. On the right was a small doorway with a small sign reading:

'ROOMS 01-10'

Up front was a small desk with a nurse joy reading from a clipboard with an Audino next to her.

I let go of Sakura's hand and looked at her. Sakura smiled at me then walked up to the desk. I followed her shortly after watching the rain from the inside.

"Excuse me." Sakura gained the attention of the nurse who looked up at Sakura as she placed the clipboard down on the desk next to a computer.

"Hello and welcome to the Pokémon center, how may I help you today?" she greeted with a smile.

"Could we have a room for the night?"

"Of cause" nurse joy said before she stood up "Let me just get your rooms ready, please wait here."

Nurse joy left and entered one of the rooms behind the reception desk leaving me and Sakura alone.

I walked over to the vending machines to get some drinks for everyone. I set Oshawott down on the nearby seat and got my money out from my pocket. " _Hmm, let's see…1100 PD." PD is shortened for Pokédollars "Okay a drink is…100? Fine…at least it's better than nothing." I_ looked back at everyone else. Sakura and Minccino stood next to the desk facing away from the window me and Oshawott were next to. I decided to buy one drink each for everyone and some snacks until we get to the room. The snacks machine had:

Chocolate bar PD 30

Potato chips plain PD 20

Potato chips spicy PD 20

Instant noodles spicy PD 50

Fresh apple PD 150

Sandwich Coming Soon

? N/A

? N/A

Gum PD 05

I bought 5 chocolate bars…150 gone. Potato chips times 5 is 100 so that's 250 spent. Instant noodles… times 6…300… 550… 50 left. After buying all of the food and drink I placed them in my bag and walked over to Sakura staring at the floor.

"Are you alright?" I asked but her sight remained focused on the white clean floor. "I'm fine now" she said.

"Um… if you don't mind me asking, w-what was that about?"

"N-nothing, it's nothing really." She said still staring at the floor. I decided to just forget about it. It wasn't my business anyway. A minute passed by, nurse joy remained gone, no one entered the center and the Audino had left… I think, I'm not sure since the deck is high up and it might be behind it in…silence. That creeped me out for some reason.

The T.V. was turned on, may as well watch it to pass the time.

On the T.V.:

"Hello and welcome back to channel 1000 Unova Entertainment." A woman said in an energetic voice.

The scene changed to a Birdseye view of the Unova region.

"Castelia City is the origin of the organization who has dedicated their lives to help and protect the citizens of Unova is The Saviors."

My attention then turned to nurse joy as she exited the room behind the desk and gave Sakura a silver key with the number 06 imprinted on it. "Your room is ready." She said. "Just through there, and the fifth door on your left. If you two need anything, just ask me."

"Thank you" we both said in unison as we walked to through the doorway and down the hallway. I stopped halfway and walked back to the reception.

"Excuse me; nurse joy is there a phone I can use?" I asked.

"Of cause, it's inside your room."

"Thank you" I said before quickly walking to our room. Sakura waited for me outside before we walked in together. The room was small with two bunk beds on either side of the room. In front of me was a window and in front of the window was a small T.V. Sitting down on the right bed I took off my bag and placed Oshawott down beside me and released Latias on top of the bed with her head resting on the pillow, talk about good aim.

"Oh yeah, I got some food and drink from the vending machines earlier." I grabbed multiple snacks in my right and a drink in my left hand and handed them to Sakura.

"Thank you" she said before grabbing some for her and Minccino and sat down on the opposite bed.

I gave some chocolate to Latias. Latias opened her eyes and looked at me then at the small piece of chocolate in my hand. She opened her mouth a little and licked it a few times before eating it. I then gave her some lemonade which she happily accepted. Oshawott drank some lemonade and ate some chocolate.

"Sakura" I said turning around facing her "so what was your plan before I came along?"

"I don't know" she said before shaking her head lightly. "I was wandering around Unova for a few days; I guess I was trying to find something that would spark my interests. But I found nothing."

" _Okay, this is a boring conversation Zackary… *sighs* what the hell do I even say? Small talk? Thanks a lot dad for telling me about how to talk to girls (!)."_

I used the remote and switched through the channels one by one looking for something to watch. In the end I found a movie we could watch, nothing too serious but it was an okay one, by okay I mean not too boring and not that good. I'm not sure why I did watch it since I hated it but everyone else in the room seemed to like it. From what I remember about the film it was about a woman travelling the world to paint landscapes, Pokémon and people for her dying father who has spent the past 40 years in bed (Probably because of an accident I'm not sure.) and she wants to paint these things so that her father can see the outside world again or something like that. Oshawott slept right through the movie while Latias resting her head on my lap got upset about the movie, the same went for Minccino. Sakura looked bored of the movie and was instead reading from a magazine.

Commercial

The scene changed to a Charmander about to drink a potion.

"Do you hate it when you are about to drink from a potion feeling refreshed and energetic once more but some annoying pest knocks it out of your paw?" Asked a man with a burly voice.

A shadowed Pokémon then knocks the potion out of the Charmanders paw making it tear up. The shadowed Pokémon was probably a Bulbasaur.

"Well cry no more as the Potion Level Three you can drink from your favorite Potion and feel once again refreshed." The Charmander smiled after drinking the potion who then turned to the shadowed Pokémon with a glare before using ember.

"But the Level three Potion comes with a special bonus. That bonus is this; if you are about to drink your potion and the pest knocks it out of your paws then you will receive 75% HP back no matter what kind of Potion it is, and that nasty pest will be incinerated."

The shadowed Pokémon is lit on fire again screaming and running away. The commercial ended and another appeared about a car commercial. We then watched a movie after feeling bored. The movie wasn't anything too special or worth telling about, it was just another one of those random movies they show on TV. 2 hours later the movie ended at around 7.14pm, feeling tired I decided to get some sleep so that tomorrow I could get up early and go to the Saviours first thing. Sakura agreed on this as well and slept in her bed with her clothes on.

I removed off my gloves and shoes and climbed into the bed. Latias lied down near the wall while Oshawott slept next to her. Closing my eyes I tried to relax and drift off to sleep but that didn't happen for almost an hour. Seriously, that's how long I counted.

I couldn't sleep much. Mostly it had to do with joining the saviours soon and... There was the other thing. I turned around to see Sakura sleeping with Minccino in her arms. I never had to sleep with someone else in a room before, except for Latias who stayed in my room most of the time taking up half of my bed whenever I tried to sleep. Winters were the best since she was like a warm cushion but the summers were the worst.

I turned over in bed facing the wall and to Latias whose head was resting on the other side of the pillow. Oshawott and Latias were hugging each other as they slept.

Closing my eyes I could hear Latias and Oshawott breathing followed by my own breathing. In my mind I thought about what I wanted to do tomorrow; join the saviours. Tomorrow I was going to join the saviours and make a difference in the world.

Slowly I drifted off and fell asleep.

I remembered a little bit about my dream. I was in a burnt empty field, the skies were grey and the wind was cold and I could smell burning like wood or grass. Perhaps it was grass that was burnt because of the black ground under my feet. Looking around I was met with nothing, just silence and a burning smell that I disliked since it now hurt my eyes.

"Okay" _I_ coughed "this is weird." _I_ said since this dream felt real like it was a lucid dream "Alright!" I cheered "let's go race car!" I said closing my eyes pointing at the ground in front of me expecting to see a race car when I opened them again. I opened my eyes... nothing. No race car or... house? It's better than nothing I guess.

Walking over to the two story house I approached the door to see that it was slightly open. Looking around the field to see once again nothing I entered the house but suddenly I found myself on the first floor in a green room. Looking back outside the door were some stairs leading down. In the room was a small window but it was fogged up to see outside. On the floor was a train set in a circle around the room with a wooden train moving slowly around the tracks.

"What kind of lucid dream is this?" I said in frustration. Holding my head with both hands I tried to get this stupid dream to do what I wanted to do like have some fun in this dream world... *sighs*

As I held my head trying so hard to get something interesting to happen I heard something smash from downstairs. Opening my eyes I turned around to see something so horrible I jumped back towards the window. It was humanoid in appearance standing as high as 7 feet tall. Its body was burnt and rotten like a corpse. The smell was so disgusting I almost threw up. The feeling felt so real I almost thought that I would throw up in the bed that I was currently sleeping on.

"W-w-w-what...what the" I said in fear as I tried to step back but the wall prevented me from moving back.

Its eyes... there were no eyes, just two empty sockets but since it had no eyes it felt as it could still see me. It had burnt clothing on and had a tail? It looked like a Pikachu's tail but it was red at the tip and a heart shape? The arms looked like that of a Grovyle, its face was human but its teeth looked sharper than a humans tooth. All of its limbs were burnt and covered in maggots and dried up blood.

I tried to open the window and jump out of it, I knew that the fall alone would break my leg or probably kill me depending on the angle I fall, but to get away from this thing or waking up would be better than another second with this thing. But before I could open the window the monster lifted its arms up slowly touching the ceiling and ran towards me shrieking like no human or Pokémon I had ever heard.

Scared I tried to jump out of the window by smashing the glass but to no prevail. It towered above me about to strike. My arms covering my head as I closed my eyes waiting for the strike until….

I woke up.

It was morning. 7.18am… I looked around the room for anything out of the ordinary. After a nightmare happens I usually do that, I guess most people do when they awaken from a nightmare. Latias was still asleep moving slightly and breathing softly. As for Sakura, Minccino and Oshawott they were watching a TV show, a cooking show about a young girl in her early 20s with her companion a female Dewott. This show is popular in the Unova region with over 5 seasons. I noticed that Oshawott was watching the show while blushing.

Getting up from the bed I slowly shifted Latias off me and let her sleep for a little while. I lightly rubbed my forehead and yawned a little. Quickly I put on my shoes and gloves.

" _I should get going soon. Man that was a creepy dream."_ I thought to myself. Oshawott got my attention when he came over towards my leg and pulled on my pants to get my attention. Looking down at him he happily gave me half an apple. Smiling, I accepted it and thanked him for it.

" _Are Pokémon always this trusting when they spend a day with their new trainer?"_ looking back at Latias who hadn't moved from her position yet, I started to think back when we first met… she hated me at first, but then she finally accepted me… I had asked many times in my childhood about that.

"Uh, Sakura?" I said gaining her attention. Oshawott and Minccino both looked at me. "Um… are you sure you want to come with me?" I said. "You don't have to if you don't want to."

"Yeah." She said smiling. "And besides, I want to find out what I want to do." She got up and looked at me again with her hands behind her back. "And you seem like an okay guy." She giggled at that. But in my mind I thought about; if she got to know me then that "An okay guy" Will turn into a boring guy with nothing interesting to say.

" _*Sighs* I'm boring as hell. Thanks a lot dad for telling me how to talk to girls."_ I said that last part sarcastically in my dark cold grey mind.

Turning around to wake Latias up I was met with no one other than Latias herself with her face very close to me smiling. Jumping back a little, Latias immediately grabbed me pulling me in for a tight hug.

"Okay," she said "let's get going. Come on Minccino." Minccino jumped up in Sakura's arms as Sakura walked over to get her bag that was placed on a chair near the window.

Getting out from Latias' hug, I returned her to her ball and picked Oshawott up and placed him on my left shoulder. My satchel shoulder bag or whatever it's called felt lighter than usual. Perhaps I was just nervous or I was feeling tense.

After getting out of Latias' hug I stroked her long neck to her head a few times and returned her to her ball.

We walked out of the door and made our way to the front desk were we saw nurse joy sitting at the desk typing something into the computer in front of her. She stopped typing as she noticed us approach the desk. Sakura handed her the keys.

"Thank you for letting us stay here." Sakura said before smiling.

Nurse joy took the keys and nodded. "Please come again any time."

"Thanks." I said before walking towards the exit of the center with Sakura. Before I exited the building I noticed a phone near the entrance.

Thinking back to when I was at home I said I was going to call mom when I got to Accumula.

"Uh, sorry I got to make a quick phone call." I said to Sakura who didn't seem to mind as I walked back inside

The phone machine thing (I forgot what it was called.) was almost clean, except the small multiple graffiti on the small desk in front of the phone monitor. The graffiti had people's names on it, different kinds of Pokémon and small writing that caught my attention reading 'Nurse joy, take your top off.'

" _Okay…"_ I whispered quietly as I picked up the phone and started dialling my house phone number. Oshawott now stood on the desk in front of the phone monitor and also noticed the small text about nurse Joy. He on occasions looked back and forth at the text and nurse joy who was still behind the desk writing on a check board. A small blush appeared on Oshawott's white face.

" _Maybe he likes that Audino?"_ I thought as I turned around to see the Audino Oshawott was looking at. But the Audino was not there. I looked again at Oshawott whose blush increased as well as his goofy smile got bigger.

" _Nurse Joy? Um… okay?"_ confused about the whole scenario I was about to ask Oshawott about it but I heard a woman on the phone.

"Hello?" the woman asked. But it wasn't just any woman. "Mom, hi it's me, Zack." I said after I turned to the monitor. My mom was in her usual attire. White buttoned up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and blue pants with a small tear on the right thigh. That tear was on purpose since she wants to stay in her words "Hip" and "Cool", things like that.

"Sorry I didn't call yesterday." I said "we almost got caught in the rain so we rain to the center and uh, I guess I forgot about it."

"That's alright." she said before noticing Oshawott still looking at Nurse Joy. "And who is this?"

"This is my starter Pokémon, Oshawott." I looked at him as he turned around to look at my mother. His blush had faded momentarily, but as he looked at her for 10 seconds his blush increased, smiling and waving at her.

"Osha, Oshawott" he happily said. "Aww, isn't he cute." She said. "He is a 'He' right?" she questioned.

"Yeah..." I responded while nodding. "Oh right, before I left Nuvema town, Latias appeared and wanted to come with me." "Well that explains where she disappeared to…" she sighed. "For a minute there I thought she flew off or got herself captured."

"Wait a minute!" she suddenly said. "Did you say 'We'? Did you make a new friend?"

"Uh… kind of." I said quietly but loud enough for her and Oshawott to hear.

"So? What is your new friend like?" mom said while smiling.

"She's just travelling with me until she figures out what she wants to do with her life."

"See Zack? Didn't I tell you, you would make friends out there?"

" _She never said that…"_ but before I could respond mom was distracted by a beeping noise coming from somewhere nearby. My mom had some sort of timer thing that reminded her of things to do, a to do list of some kind, I never paid much attention to that thing or never asked her what it was for. I'll just say she's making something in the kitchen.

"I'm sorry Zack, I have to go now. Call me when you have reached the saviours HQ."

"I will. Bye."

"Take care." We both put down the phones and the monitors switched off.

" _Ah! I forgot to ask about Yuri… I'll ask mom when I get to the saviours."_

The outside was clear. No clouds in the sky and no people on the street, it was completely empty… except for us. Walking over to the store behind the center, just outside the store were soda and snack machines. The store was small and painted blue. The windows had posters scattered around each window. Some of them had the following:

01\. 75% off Sale at Nimbasa City on Wednesday to Friday.

02\. Pokémon Battle starting next week at Castelia City from 9AM to 3PM.

03\. Pokémon Day-care for 100 PD a Day.

04-This is a story, reader. (I'm not sure what that one was about.)

05\. S? at ? ? City this ?day to Wednesday ?. (The text was fading badly. I couldn't make it out.)

We entered the small shop together. Inside it was a little bright. The tiled floors were slightly stained and some small cracks on a tile or two. The walls were painted white with more posters about half price sales and offers. Beside the walls were shelves full of potions, food and accessories for both trainer and Pokémon. To the right was the cashier behind the small brown desk. The cashier was an elderly woman probably in her late 60s placing some items near the cash register. Small bottles what appeared to be Potions for Pokémon.

Sakura walked towards the other side of the shop while I walked near a shelf close to the cashier. The shelf had various items like:

Potion 300PD

Ether 1200PD

Revive 1500PD

HP UP 9800PD

PP UP 9800PD

Protein 9800PD

Iron 9800PD

Calcium 9800PD

Zinc 9800PD

Carbos 9800PD

Vitamin 9800PD

" _Wow an HP UP. Never seen once for sale. Damn it! If I only had some money to buy this..."_ I said disappointed in my mind after wanting to purchase a rare item for so long and try it out on Latias or another Pokémon I had caught. A rare item like this in a small town like Accumula won't be gone the next time I return with a lot of money... right? Knowing my luck it'll probably be out of stock.

The HP UP bottle fit in my hand. The bottle was lightly brown with a white label wrapped around the entire bottle with the name, logo of company who made this stuff, and at the back were the ingredients of this drink. The white cap on top of the bottle had a small green triangle imprinted on it, the same went for the others. The same triangle imprinted on the cap each with different colors. Suddenly I heard the cash register open as the cashier put some PD inside. Sakura was buying some potions… two of them from the looks of it.

" _C'mon Zack, open your eyes and listen; she is going to leave you, mock you even. Run! Run to Castalia!"_ In my mind I turned around putting down the HP UP. _"This could be my chance to start anew."_ I thought trying to find hope in getting some friends. _"Run while you can. Don't let these fools walk all over you."_ after that I placed my hands in my pockets and looked at the ground. I noticed from the corner of my eye, Oshawott was staring at me. My expression was glum, bored even.

"Hey." Sakura said as she walked up to me. "Here I got you this." Looking down at her right hand, Sakura passed me a chocolate bar, while in her left hand beside her waist was the bag that contained the two potions she bought recently. Now that I realize it, on her left hand- I mean on her wrist were multiple dried up cuts probably a week or two old.

" _Knife wounds? Did Sakura cut herself?"_ concerned with her cuts I wanted to ask her about it but quickly I decided against it.

I slowly grabbed the chocolate bar from her and looked at it more closely. The chocolate bar was wrapped in a red wrapper. The front read out; 'Eden Chocolate Bar' I have heard about this chocolate. Anyone who eats this chocolate can restore their HP a little. Same goes for any other Eden product.

"Thank you." I said before taking the chocolate bar from her. "The nice lady at the register said I could get two if I spent 500 in store." She smiled "So here ya go."

"I'll eat it later. But again, thank you." I smiled lightly as I opened my satchel and put the chocolate bar inside.

We left the shop but as we left I noticed at the corner of my eye in the sky were about seven helicopters flying towards Castelia city.

The helicopters were black and had a yellow logo on the side of one of them; I couldn't make out the logo so I continued to watch them as they flew past the town in the direction of Castelia.

"Never seen that many helicopters at once like that…" Sakura said as she watched the helicopters. The helicopters flew by and disappeared from view.

We started to walk towards the towns exit. As we were walking I heard bird-type Pokémon yelling their names to each other, Pidoves, Swellows, and a Fearow I think. A few Pokémon from other regions especially bird and water types usually come to Unova for a few months for the winter I think or was it mating season? Well whatever the reason it was nice to hear Pokémon from other regions, makes me wonder if I'll go to other regions for a mission when I join the Saviors.

We finally reached the towns exit and began walking. With each step I took, I knew that I was getting closer and closer to starting my career.

To be continued...

* * *

Trivia:

Sakura originally was called Sophia in the Alpha version I had wrote a while ago, this change was due to a character later on had the same name as her.


	3. Chapter 3 The Totodile Clan

Pokemon Dreams 01 – Annihilation

"Thank you!" Speech

" _Italic"_ Thought

" **BOLD?"** Unknown

* * *

Chapter 03 The Totodile Clan

On this path we walked we never approached Nacrene. After you exit Accumula, there are 3 routes one could take, these routes were:

Fast route, a route for people wanting to get to Castelia quickly (obviously). This route had the most traffic and the walk there was about 40 minutes. 10-15 minutes by car if you had one.

The normal route, like the Fast route but without cars and traffic, but if we did take that route then it would've taken a couple of hours to get to Castalia from Nacrene, something I didn't want.

The scenic route, this was a route that I liked as a kid. When I was young, myself, my sister Yuri, and my mom would come here to build sand castles, play in the water, or sometimes just sit together and eat food we brought together. You might have wondered why I never mentioned Latias in this. You see this was before I found her and after I did find her we just forgot about this place. I'm glad we chose this route, I wonder if it's still as I remember it.

The scenic route was the same as the fast route, 40 minutes but quiet. Some elderly people walk through this area while young people usually walk the fast route or normal route. Sometimes trainers pass by this place to search for Pokémon or a random chest in the forest.

Sakura and I continued down this quite long path. A path full of fallen dead leaves and a little garbage lying around. Just because this is a quite peaceful path doesn't mean people respect it.

"Once we get to the Saviors, how long will it take for you to become a member amongst their ranks?" I turned to see Sakura looking at me. I turned back to the path.

"Probably a few months..." I replied to her before catching my breath. "Like I said earlier, you don't have to go with me."

"It's alright. We are walking the same way so why not walk together?" Her Minccino yawned and started to sniff around, the same thing happened with Oshawott.

" _What's wrong with them?"_ I thought as i looked back and forth at them wondering what's up.

"Oshawott! Osha!" Exclaimed Oshawott as he pointed towards ahead of the path. "Minccino!" also pointed ahead past the trees. The strange smell, it was familiar… the sound was calming and relaxing to me.

"The beach!" I looked at Sakura as she smiled and ran towards the path with Minccino in her arms. I could hear her laugh as she vanished from view. I ran trying to catch up to her, but thoughts, terrible ones echoed through my head…

" _Go away, no one wants you around."_

" _Get lost freak"_

Laughter of children and adults I remembered from the past.

I almost stopped running until I heard Sakura's voice call out to me.

"Zack!" Sakura shouted from the trees. "C'mon hurry!" I ran through the trees with Oshawott hanging on to my shoulder. I could hear the sound of the waves in front of me, and that is when I saw it… the beach.

The sand was slightly wet from the sea water, this beach never did have dry sand most of the time. The ocean was as blue as I had remembered it from the last time I came here. The rocks and palm trees near the ocean were fewer than last time. If I can remember correctly there were 20 or more, now there are only 8 of them.

Seeing this brought back a lot of memories, good ones. I remembered when I made a large sand castle near the ocean. I couldn't remember where I made it. I was too focused on the sand castle than castle wasn't detailed; it was just a couple of buckets of sand built on top of one another like a pyramid, or a tower of cards. It didn't stay up for long since the tide came in.

Sakura looked at me after placing Minccino down on the sand next to Oshawott who had jumped off just then. "How about if we stay here for a little while?" she asked "Castelia is only a 10 minute walk from here."

"Uh…" I wanted to get to the Saviors HQ already, but I was sure a short break wouldn't hurt. It's not like they are expecting me yet. I looked up at her and smiled "alright."

I grabbed Latias' pokéball from my bag and released her. Latias did her usual thing when she was released, flying over to me and hugging me whilst rubbing her head against mine for a short while.

After she hugged me, Latias turned her head towards the ocean and opened her mouth in surprise, her eyes looking left to right every few seconds. This was her first time seeing the ocean instead of seeing it on TV or video games.

"Lah?" she asked but keeping her eyes on the blue ocean in front of us.

"Go ahead." I said to her before I stroked her long soft neck. She smiled at me and ra- uh... levitated towards the water hovering above the surface staring at her own reflection smiling. Oshawott ran towards the ocean with Minccino in paw and jumped in causing a slightly small splash. Sakura sat down on the sand, placing her bag on her lap and pulled out some kind of book, an old light blue book with the words '?o?onB?o?' were the only words I could make out from where I was standing. (The '?' in the text are just gibberish to me, sorry I couldn't read it.)

 **5 minutes of relaxing later**

I was sitting alone by a palm tree under the shade and watched the ocean drinking lemonade I bought at the center yesterday.

" _Wish I got water instead."_ *Sighs* I turned my head to look at the others. Oshawott and Minccino were building a sand castle a foot away from me. The castle looked pretty good as it stood 20 inches high. Oshawott made a little moat around the castle using the sea water he scooped up with his paws. Minccino used her tail to brush away the dirt, broken glass and garbage people left. Latias however was searching the beach for something, seashells maybe. Sakura was still reading her book whilst smiling.

 **Latias' POV**

 **This section is written from Latias' point of view from our time at the beach. All point of views are used with permission.**

"Hm… this isn't good enough." I sighed throwing the broken shell on the sand shattering it into more useless pieces.

What was I doing by myself at the beach without the others you might ask? True, I was searching for a seashell, but it wasn't just any seashell, it was the 'perfect' seashell, a shiny, clear shell void of any chips and/or scratches present. The kind of shell where you would find at a beach gift shop or something. I wasn't going to keep it for myself, no. I wanted to give it to my trainer, my best friend Zack.

But alas the only shells I could find were broken ones, broken pieces of glass and a blue square wrapper with a circle shape in the center. Annoyed, I almost threw the small shells I had found earlier, but I didn't.

Looking over at Oshawott I noticed he and the Minccino who I have not yet spoken to were building a sand castle. I smiled as I came up with a plan to take Oshawott's Scalchop and claim I found something similar here.

Placing the shells down gently, I slowly levitated towards Oshawott until it hit me, what if I had proceeded with my plan taking Oshawott's shell and giving it to Zack he would get angry with me.

" _Hmm… the good ending."_ The voice of Zack echo's in Latias' mind.

"Wow! This shell is the best thing you have ever given me. I love you so much Latias." Zack kisses Latias on the check making her blush.

" _T-the bad ending?"_ The voice of Zack echo's in Latias' mind.

"I can't believe you stole Oshawott's shell thing. I'm disappointed at you!"

"Uh…?" The Unknown ending?

Voice of an old man:

"Hello, my name is professor oak and welcome to the world of Pokemon."

" _W-what the? What was that about"_ confused about that last scenario I decided to just forget about taking Oshawott's shell and return to the other small shells.

" _It isn't worth the trouble."_ Levitating back to the shells I placed on the beach, I continued to look for the 'Perfect' shell on this beach. _"_ Maybe if I find smaller shells I could make like a necklace for him. Is Zack a necklace person? Never seen him wear one before." Looking up at Zack as he was sitting near a palm tree by himself. I thought about what to make for him, the things I came up with were:

Seashell Necklace A lucky charm to ensure a safe journey.

Seashell Bracelet Friendship Increases x2 per battle and other activities.

Seashell Hat Um…Yay.

Seashell Badge Increase Water resistance by 15%

Seashell It's the thought that counts.

"I'll just… give him what comes to mind."

 **2 minutes later**

"Nothing… *sighs*" looking down at the shells I came up with nothing. In the end I decided to give Zack a three inch round shell I found earlier.

"Guess this will have to-" I stopped. Looking at it more closely I noticed that this shell had no scratches or broken off pieces. It was the best one, except that it was kind of dirty and covered in sand. This was the shell that I was going to give to Zack. Smiling, I quickly levitated to the ocean and carefully washed the dirt and sand off the shell.

 **Back to Zack's point of view**

I decided to go for a short walk around the beach. It wasn't a long walk since this beach was small and to my view the shape of an oval. The beach was a popular place to visit near Accumula, but this place was never named or shown on the Unova regions map.

" _I shall call this beach 'Oval Beach'?"_ As I was thinking to myself I noticed a cave entrance on the west side of the 'Oval Beach'. I stood by the entrance for a while listening for any sort of life inside. I didn't want to intrude on a family of Pokemon inside and get attacked so I just stayed there to continue to listen for even the slightest of sounds from within the cave.

Nothing. So after that I walked in.

Inside the cave was small and nothing out of the ordinary. The only source of light this cave had was the sun that shined down from the entrance. In front of me were stone like steps to leave the cave. The ground was covered in sand and a few rocks… 'Yay (!)'. Bored, I sat down on the sand floor and grabbed a nearby stone and wrote on the cave wall with it.

" _Maybe I should draw myself giving a starfruit to Latias."_ I chuckled to myself at the thought. Raising the stone towards the wall I just drew what came to mind.

'ZR' on the top, 'L' on the bottom left, and 'O' on the bottom right. it was in a triangle like shape if it only were aligned correctly. As for those letters I wrote on the wall, 'ZR' is obviously me, 'L' and 'O' is Latias and Oshawott.

After staring at the wall for a few minutes I crawled out of the cave and walked over to Oshawott and Minccino who were still building the castle or should I say finishing it off. They were placing shells on the castle for decoration and placing small twigs around the castle.

"Hey." Sakura said as she sat next to me. "Wow, that castle looks great."

"Yeah. Minccino and Oshawott made it."

"It's a shame we didn't bring a camera with us." Sakura said with disappointment.

Suddenly from the corner of my right eye I noticed a large group of Pokemon near the right side of the beach where the path to Castelia is. There were two kinds of them, mostly Totodile and 4 Croconaw circling around a smaller Totodile who was yelling something at them.

 _"Thought Totodile and Croconaw come from the Johto region..."_ I said in my mind. Looking back at the Ocean, I felt like swimming but with those Totodile and Croconaw near the ocean kind of made it seem like I was intruding on their territory, things like that happened on beaches starting unfriendly battles that sometimes caused injury and death of the Pokemon living on the beach, or rarely a trainer.

Going back to... whatever i was doing, I began to wonder if I had forgotten anything at home before I left. Not even 20 seconds passed when I heard a *Slap* from nearby.

Looking in the direction of the noise, I saw a Croconaw repeatedly attacking the Totodile that was yelling something at it. The moves it was using were Scratch and Tackle.

"Hey, cut it out!" Sakura shouted as she ran over to them with Minccino gaining the attention of all of them, none looking too happy. As for me, I remained sitting there on the other side of the beach watching the entire thing. That's what I did.

Sakura stopped a few inches away from the group of Pokemon to be safe. "Leave that Totodile alone!" "Minccino!" Sakura's companion was beside her along with Oshawott. Latias was looking at both Sakura and the Pokemon group with a worried look.

With a heavy sigh, I got up from the wet sand and walked towards Sakura. I thought that if I wasn't anywhere near them they would try to attack them seeing as how they outnumber Sakura. Man, how I was wrong.

Approaching Sakura, a Croconaw stepped out of the group looking angry at all four of us. The Croconaw then pointed its paw at us and yelled at us. Using its paw swatting away at us, it was probably telling us to go away. Sakura kneeled down to the Croconaw so the two were almost eye level. The Croconaw's expression didn't change, it seemed like it was getting angrier. Sakura remained calm hoping that the Pokemon wouldn't see her as a threat.

"Leave that Totodile alone." Sakura said with her hands to her side. "Look, I'm sure with whatever reason it can be-" Without warning, the Croconaw swiped its claws at Sakura nearly hitting her. She would've been hit if that Croconaw was faster with its attack, it was the fattest one in the entire group so that could've been the reason it was slow. Minccino and Oshawott attacked them, Minccino with tackle and Oshawott with razor shell. The attacks from both of them hit many Totodile that appeared to be defending the four Croconaw that stood in front of them.

One of the Totodile's attacks happened to hit me, it wasn't anything serious like a scratch attack, it was a water gun move that sent me flying across the beach. The only thing I remembered about that was opening my eyes again after hitting the warm sand, not my body getting thrown across the beach, that was like a blur to me. Latias immediately flew towards me and used her move Protect that sent an invisible force in the shape of a bubble around us, some small blue and red patterns appeared on the shield but disappeared every few seconds with different colors replacing them like purple and green.

 **A few minutes later... probably 3.**

The Totodile and Croconaw then left laughing as they walked through the trees near the ocean. Their laughs could still be heard from where i was, still wet from a random Totodile's water gun... ugh.

Latias grabbed a towel from my bag which was packed before I left was drying my head with it with her paw. Oshawott, who was sitting beside me, had a worried look on his face. The Totodile sitting on a rock with a small twig in its paw began drawing in the sand random shapes and lines.

Sakura sat on the other side of the Totodile with Minccino looking back at us and towards the forest on occasions, probably on the lookout if the Pokémon decided to come back.

"Osha Oshawott?" Oshawott spoke to the Totodile breaking the silence. The Totodile looked up at Oshawott but continued looking sad. The Totodile rubbed its eyes then spoke up. "Dile, Totodile Dile..."

Oshawott walked in the center of us waving his arms around. "Oshawott, wott wott osha."

"Oshawott, what is it?" I asked curious as to what Oshawott was waving his arms and speaking for. "Oshawott, Osha wott wot wott Oshawott osha-"

 **5 minutes of Pokemon speech and waving later... seriously, that's how long it was.**

"Um... d-did you get any of that?" Sakura asked as she leaned in closer near my ear.

Shaking my head. "Nothing..." looking back at Oshawott who had a calm look didn't seem disappointed or angry that after 5 minutes of waving and talking nothing was gained from it.

"Totodile, why where you arguing with those Pokemon earlier?" Sakura asked gaining the attention of the Totodile. The Totodile looked back at everyone around it and stood up slightly shaking, " _Probably nervous."_ I thought.

The Totodile gathered small pebbles and brought them over to us and placed them down gently. All of us watched as the Totodile grabbed a small pebble and pointed it's finger at its self.

"That's you?" I asked, the Totodile nodded and placed it down next to the pebbles that were in the shape of a small circle. In the center of the small circle was a large pebble, presumably the Croconaw leader. Then the Totodile made a wave pattern in the sand that represented the ocean. Next Totodile crabbed the largest pebble and used the pebbles and pushed the pebbles down the sand or beach. Down the beach drawing was another set of smaller pebbles, probably other Pokemon or their kind. Totodile then showed the bigger pebble hitting the smaller pebbles down the beach and laughing. Then Totodile who earlier showed us that it was that pebble didn't like this idea and wanted to resort to a peaceful solution. The Croconaw from Totodile's pebble thing didn't like that one of its clan members is disagreeing with its leader and saw this as a challenge. The Totodile then tried to back out of the fight but the others ordered by its leader to prevent the Totodile from escaping.

The Totodile explained all this as best as it could then looked around at us.

"Does this mean you have been exiled from your group?" I asked the Totodile who then looked up at me, butit's sad expression didn't change as it shook it's head slowly.

"Oshawott, Osha Oshawott!" Oshawott happily then spoke to Totodile, like he was telling Totodile something important.

"Totodile?" It said before looking up at me. Confused as to what the Totodile was staring at me like that, I was about to ask what that look was for, that is until Oshawott walked up to my bag and pulled out one of the spare pokéballs.

With a confused look, the only words that came out of my mouth were "Uh..." When I first started my journey to become a Savior Member, i never thought about capturing other Pokemon or travelling with others since Savior members always travel by themselves on missions.

"Toto?" The Totodile asked tilting it's head to the side. As I stared at the Totodile in front of me, at that moment i felt as if this Totodile was like me.

"Is that what you want, Totodile?" I asked "Do you want to c-come with us?" The Totodile happily smiled then jumped up and down. Smiling, I took the pokéball from Oshawott's paws and enlarged the ball and lightly tapped Totodile's forehead. Totodile's body glowed red and entered the ball. after a few shakes later it stopped and made this 'Ding' noise (It was the best noise i could come up with at the time.).

"C'mon, let's get going." I said whilst getting up "I need to get to the Saviors HQ."

Sakura nodded then got up and picked up Minccino. Latias then gave me a small shell she found earlier. The shell had no chips or scratches on it, it was nice. To show my thanks, I stroked Latias' head and then it progressed into a hug.

"Laa! Laaaa!" Her head was resting on my shoulder... near my ear when she yelled like that.

After stroking her head once more, i grabbed her pokéball from my bag and returned her. Her form quickly disappeared into her ball until there were only me, Oshawott, Sakura and Minccino remained on the beach.

We began to walk off the beach and towards the path that lead to Castelia City. It wasn't a long walk, it was just 10 minutes of green scenery and the occasional Pokémon or two.

Fallen dead leaves scattered on the dirt path. I noticed on a tree that someone scratched said 'G x F', and a branch above that graffiti were a small family of Emolga, 3 small ones and an adult one giving each of them a berry. I wondered if that Emolga feeding the smaller Pokémon was its mother, or father maybe. The other one was probably away to find more food for its young. I took out my Pokédex and instead of using it to view the Emolga, I instead searched for my Pokémon to check up all of their moves and other information that may be helpful.

 **Pokédex Information on: Trainers Pokémon**

Oshawott

Gender-Male

Age-Adult

Species-Oshawott

No.501

Moves:

01-Tackle

02-Razor Shell

03-(Empty)

04-(Empty)

Ability-Torrent

Favorite Food- Pizza

Nature-Adamant

Caught at- Nuvema Town (Starter)

Trainer-Zack Raines

Pokéball-Normal

Other-First Pokemon caught

Latias

Gender-Female

Age-Adult

Species-Latias

No.380

Moves:

01-Protect

02-Psychic

03-Most Ball

04-Rest

Ability-Levitate

Favorite Food-Cake (Any kind)

Nature-Jolly

Caught at- Nuvema Town

Trainer-Zack Raines

Pokéball-Master

Other-Second Pokemon caught

Totodile

Gender-Male

Age-Adult

Species-Totodile

No.158

Moves:

01-Bite

02-(Empty)

03-(Empty)

04-(Empty)

Ability-Sheer Force

Favorite Food-Unknown

Caught at- Castelia/Accumula Road/Beach

Trainer-Zack Raines

Pokéball-Normal

Other-Third Pokemon caught

I thought about the Pokémon Totodile stood up to, if the... pebble story was accurate and that the Croconaw leader was about to take over another group of Pokémon further down the beach, maybe we should've stopped them...

 _"That Croconaw looked strong, I don't even know much about battling, and if i tried to battle them they would probably injure one of us badly... I'll come back later when I am stronger"_

Thinking about those Pokémon, I noticed the top of the path, stairs leading to the top. The dirt wall was the only thing to hold on to when climbing up or climbing down. Old people when walking this path sometimes complained about the lack of no lights for night travel or and handles to hold sometimes causing injuries and on two occurrences death... broken necks. The children at school made a so-called rumor about two ghosts that haunt the stairs and walk down the stairs every year on the day it happened. Of cause there have been no sightings of ghosts appearing their... but a girl, my age, her grandparents were the ones that died. I remember that they made pictures, hand drawn (badly like a 2 year olds attempt) broken necks of an old man and woman with her last name drawn on their clothes.

Yeah, let someone else do that to you when your loved one has died, then let's see how you feel then, evil bastards.

We arrived at the top of the stairs to see the bridge to the city in front of us. To the right was the other path that leads to Nacrene city and the road for cars and trucks. Castelia city, the city

When the five founders started out and opened up The Saviors here first, then Kanto, Kalos, Hoenn, and then Sinnoh.

 _"Just past this bridge and I'll become a member of the Saviors. Okay."_ After that thought, i looked up at the city once more and said to myself "Here we go." which I'm pretty sure Oshawott heard as i noticed him turn his head and looked at me. Looking at Oshawott resting on my left shoulder, I petted his head and smiled.

 **Meanwhile, Unknown location**

A pilot was inside a helicopter using his headset to talk to an unknown person.

"Sir, target is within sight, commencing drop in 20 seconds." he spoke into the headset gaining a response from it. "Good. Drop them all, make sure all of the containers are dropped."

"Yes Sir!" The pilot and passengers of each helicopter spoke in unison on their radios as they approached... Castelia city.

To be continued…

* * *

Trivia:

Totodile is based on my Totodile I transferred from HeartGold to Black a few years ago along with my other Pokemon in my main party that are going to appear later on.

 **Thanks for reading.**


	4. Chapter 4 Hurry

Pokemon Dreams 01 - Annihilation

"Hey! I'm talking to you." Speech

 _"I wonder what they want."_ Thought

 **"Time to die!"** Unknown

I found a Potion that day. Narration

* * *

CHAPTER 04 HURRY

Castelia city, this city was the exact city where five friends started the group known as The Saviors. Five members, five regions. Unova, Kanto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Johto.

We had just passed the city entrance to see the city as it was, a city full of people walking past us going through their everyday lives. Shopping, going to work, meeting friends, things like that.

Looking to the right a large dark grey building stood tall with the sign 'Hotel of Castelia City' above the entrance. The next building didn't have an entrance on this side; probably the entrance to the building was around the street. At the corner of the building was a monitor displaying news stories and sometimes commercials. The smell of the ocean water was strong since the entrance was just a small walk to the pier itself. A small group of Pelippers and Tailow flew by the city towards the Saviors building. The building itself was located at the south corner of the city, a 5 minute walk at the least.

Last year the Saviors built in a defence mechanism in case of an attack. Attacks had happened before, but nothing too serious.

With my left hand clutched on my bag strap, I stepped into the city with Sakura following closely. I don't know she continued to stay with me, if I was her I would've probably left by now and gone somewhere else. A part of me wanted to be left alone, but the other... it didn't.

"So, where is this building you have to go to?" Sakura asked me as she looked at the tall buildings in amazement.

"Well," I replied "It's just down the street." After I had said that, Sakura continued to remain looking up at the buildings with Minccino within her arms doing the same.

I began walking in the direction of the Saviors HQ, Sakura had jogged up further to see the ocean more clearly, for a minute there I thought she and I were going to part ways, but she occasionally turned back at me and waved at me... or Oshawott.

With each step I made, the more nervous I became. A five minute walk to the entrance, begin my qualification exam and call mom about this. Sure, that plan may have been good, but the only thing I remember about that day wasn't a good thing... it started with a large bang. An explosion was heard north of Castelia city, near the residential area. People around me started screaming and panicking but hardly moving. I tried looking for Sakura but I couldn't see her anywhere.

 _"Where is she? Did she run away?"_ I thought as i held Oshawott who had just climbed down from my shoulder and into my arms as if he felt safer there.

Suddenly the monitor changed from a commercial about hair products to Castelia City's news channel. The monitor showed three black helicopters with the letter 'A' in yellow on the side leaving Castelia heading in the direction of the desert region. "What's going on?!" a child shouted to their parents. "Was that Team Annihilation?" the man beside said with fear in his voice. "Oh no!" A woman screamed, followed by the occasional screams and voices of other people near me, too loud for me to understand a single voice.

The monitor changed to a black screen with the words 'Evacuate to the Safe Zone immediately!' written in white with the words underneath 'This is not a drill.' As soon as the message appeared on the monitor, a loud siren blared through the streets causing many people to run and scream.

"Attention citizens of Castelia City," The male announcer said gaining the attention of a few people as they ran. "Evacuate to the Castelia city Safe Zone immediately! This is not a drill, I repeat, this is not a drill!" The announcement repeated a few times after that.

Where this Safe Zone was, heck if I knew, I have never been to this city before. My original plan was to run down the street just past the monitor, but that's when I saw it...

A large being appeared from the corner of the street stopping people in their tracks. From the corner of my eye i believed it was an Onix that was accompanying its trainer. As i looked towards the being, I gasped. The being looked like an Onix but it's body wasn't a stone-like body, it was like it was softer and its skin was ripped off exposing its muscles. Green vain like wires covered its body pulsing as it stayed in place. Its eyes were normal, it had a soulless expression as it looked at everyone with its mouth open. I thought this Onix was a victim of the explosion that happened nearby so i never assumed anything at first and i tried to ignore it as i tried to look for the safe zone. A few people did the same but others tried to help the Onix in any way they could. But before i got to the corner of the street, I saw Sakura with Minccino standing in place. I shouted to Sakura whilst waving my free hand "Heeeeyyy!" Gaining the attention of Sakura. Then as she ran towards me she screamed as she noticed the Onix, but it wasn't just the sight of the Onix's appearance.

I now looked at the Onix once more to see that it had a person in its mouth and bite down hard tearing the man in two. The man's upper body fell first causing those who saw this to vomit or try to escape the city after witnessing what had just transpired. The Onix then roared loudly, its roar wasn't a usual roar of an Onix, it sounded distorted like its pitch was lowered.

Again, I assumed this Onix was in so much agony it was going crazy, that is until A small robotic like copter appeared from the streets loudly shooting bullets at the Onix making most of the people to escape the area, into buildings or down the street. This was a Savior Robotic Copter Ver.02 named by Dr Guard, apparently that was the best name he could think of, they were built 4 years ago to assist soldiers in combat situations and riots. The Onix was bleeding but it didn't seem to be in pain. It used its tail to attack the robot copter but the small copter was fast enough to dodge most of the attacks, that is until it got hit and crashed into the monitor causing it to fall to the ground separating me and Sakura. The Onix roared once more and then fled to another part of the city were more screams could be heard in the distance.

Walking to the blocked up path, Sakura shouted to me "Zack, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I replied back trying to look for an alternative way to get passed the rubble that started to catch on fire. "What about you?"

"I'm good!" I heard her shout between breaths. "Zack, what should we do?!"

"I'll meet you at the Safe Zone!" I shouted, but there was a slight pause. "Sakura, did you hear me!?" I replied.

Waiting there I heard her "Okay, I'll meet you there." Turning in the direction of the street the Onix fled to i became anxious about seeing another one again. The man's upper body remained on the streets... it was like he was looking at me which made me immediately turn away, never before had I have been this afraid, i looked towards the street once more and began to walk forward, past the blood and past the body.

"I can defiantly do this." I said trying to give myself more courage. My chest felt tensed, it was if it was crushing with each step i took or with every second that had passed. I stopped and breathed calmly... thankfully it helped. Looking back towards the entrance of the city, I realized the shutters had dropped preventing anyone from leaving. As much as i wanted to leave the city and to go somewhere i felt safe, i couldn't just leave Sakura alone.

Running cautiously through the street, the louder the screaming became. Gunshots and few explosion could be heard nearby. Was it the Saviors fighting Annihilation troopers? Another faction? Or something else entirely? With these questions racing through my mind as I ran past many bodies that lay on the ground, some torn up probably from the Onix that passed by.

As I ran with Oshawott who i was carrying with my left arm, I could hear another roar like that Onix made before it attacked those people. Trying to evade that Onix as much as I could, I ran into an alley opposite from the roar. In the alley, I realized I wasn't alone. In front of me were three beings, one that looked like a Raticate, the one in the middle looked like a Hitmonchan, the last next to the Hitmonchan looked like a Poliwrath, all without skin, all covered in muscle and that green-like veins that covered their bodies. They noticed us, but like the Onix they had no emotion and their cries were low pitched, the sound hurt my ears and made the hairs on the back of my arms and neck stand. My eyes widened as they approached closer moving towards us. Stunned with fear, i couldn't move, i couldn't talk. Oshawott jumped out from my arm and stood in front of me facing the beings as they stopped in their tracks glaring at him.

Oshawott grabbed his scalchop and activated Razor shell. "Oshawott!" He shouted at the three, but none of them responded or even flinch. I then grabbed Totodile's Pokéball and released him for battle.

"Totodile" Smiling, he placed his paws at his sides, until he noticed the skinless Pokémon staring at him. Totodile jumped back at this and hid behind my right leg. Oshawott ran up to him and spoke something to him. "Osha, Oshawott!" Oshawott quickly ran up to Totodile who didn't move an inch when Oshawott approached him. "Totodile." he shouted shaking his head rapidly. Oshawott walked closer to him, "Osha oshawott wott osha." Whatever Oshawott said to Totodile seemed to give him courage, letting go of my leg, Oshawott ran together with Totodile towards the monsters.

The Poliwrath was the first to attack with its skinless fist raised ready to strike, Totodile evaded it's attack, but the Poliwrath attacked Oshawott by hitting him in the face with the back of its paw knocking him over. Oshawott got up immediately after that attack picking up his scalchop. Poliwrath had its attention set on Oshawott leaving it wide open for an attack by Totodile.

"Totodile, use Bite" I commanded. Totodile jumped up at the top of its head and bite down hard. Nothing, not even a cry. Blood was dripping down from the injured Pokémon. Poliwrath stumbled back to the other two Pokémon but stopped in its place as it stood holding its head firmly with its paw-like glove. Totodile was wiping some blood off of his jaw standing in place between me and the other Pokémon with Oshawott standing beside.

"Oshawott, Razor Shell on Poliwrath!" Commanding Oshawott as I continued to stare at the Poliwrath afraid to look elsewhere thinking the Poliwrath would, I don't know... teleport in front of me and attack.

As Oshawott ran up to Poliwrath, Poliwrath tried to raise its other paw to shield the attack, but Oshawott was too fast and struck the Poliwrath across the stomach. As the Poliwrath fell to the ground it did something i never expected would happen... It made some sort of buzzing sound, a robotic voice shouted out from the Poliwraths mouth. The Poliwrath then melted in its place leaving behind only a pool of blood. Oshawott and Totodile only gasped at the sight of this. The other two Pokémon continued to stand there like statues, what were they? Who did this to them? These questions flashed multiple times through my head as i tried to get a clear sense of why these creatures were here attacking us.

Suddenly, Raticate ran up and scratched Totodile right across the chest horizontally causing Totodile to wince in pain. Raticate was about to attack again but missed because Totodile fell backwards on the ground. Fearing that the attack was a lethal one, i quickly grabbed Latias' ball throwing it in front of me, the ball opened and Latias materialized, but not in front of me... she materialized next to me and hugging me, after succeeding to be free from her grasp, i alerted to Latias about the strange skinless Pokémon in front of us. Latias looked at the skinless Pokémon first then turned her gaze towards the pool of blood near both Totodile and Oshawott attempting not to touch it with their feet. Her eyes widened as her mouth fell; she then hid behind me but peeked around the side of me to stare at them.

"Latias, help us out here, please." Latias looked up at me and nodded before levitating to assist Oshawott and Totodile.

I didn't realize that the Hitmonchan had ran up to Oshawott and had punched Oshawott right in his face causing him to stumble backwards.

"Latias, use Psychic!" Latias stared into Hitmonchans eyes as her entire body glowed violet, her eyes also glowed violet as Hitmonchans entire body levitated up from the ground, but like Poliwrath it never made a sound. The Raticate however did nothing; it was as if it were watching the battle. Its soulless expression and its skinless form made me feel uneasy.

 _"Wait, what the hell am i doing just attacking one Pokémon at a time? i could easily hold Hitmonchan in place and have Oshawott and Totodile attack that abomination of a Pokémon."_ Shaking my head, my vision was now on the Raticate, "Oshawott, use Tackle! Totodile, Bite!"

Both Oshawott and Totodile ran up to the Raticate as it stood there, _"Why isn't it moving? Is this like some sort of tactic?"_ I then turned my head to look at Hitmonchan who was still levitating in place. "Latias," She then turned her head towards me, "Keep Hitmonchan in place, you can do this." She nodded then turned towards Hitmonchan as i now faced the Raticate. Totodile used Tackle on the Pokémon, but Raticate evaded it by jumping up and then pounced on Totodile biting him in the arm.

"DILE!" He screamed loudly as the Raticate's fang had pierced through Totodile's skin. Oshawott has used tackle to knock the Raticate off of Totodile, that was when I had enough of this, "Latias, finish Hitmonchan off now." I began as I grabbed a small Potion spray for Totodile. Latias had thrown the Hitmonchan high up in the air forcing it to drop hard onto the ground where it had stood not long ago.

Then something strange had happened, the fallen skinless Pokémon immediately got up ignoring the fact that the two were seriously injured, the Hitmonchan's broken leg from the fall and the Raticate's declawed paw, they stood there as if nothing had happened. I was about to command all three of my Pokémon to attack them but their bodies like the Poliwrath melted into a pool of blood and the robotic buzzing noise soon followed.

I walked up to Totodile and gave him some Potion. "There ya go." grabbing the pokédex from my bag, i checked his stats...

Totodile

HP 26/30

Note:

Suffered a serious injury to the upper arm.

Must be treated at the center immediately.

 _"With everything going on right now i have to be quick and get to the Safe Zone, before Totodile bleeds to death. Great going Zackary, not even a week into this and one of your Pokémon is seriously injured..."_ Starring glumly at the empty Potion spray, i shook my head and placed the Pokédex and spray back in my bag, also grabbing Totodile's pokéball and placed him inside. I kept Oshawott and Latias out of their Pokéballs to feel safe, can't tell whether or not those things will appear again.

We cautiously walked through the now empty alley. An hour ago this place probably had a few people passing through here, but now, there was only silence, an unsettling silence that made my heart beat fast and my skin crawl. The cold air... yeah, i did like the cold, but this cold... I didn't like it.

Oh right, I forgot to mention what the alley looked like, sorry. The alley was kind of dark with the tall buildings towering above it. There were five garbage cans all along the left side of the alley, two of them were full, and one was empty except for a random large stick sticking out that resembled a Braixen's stick-wand thing. As for the other two cans, they were lying on the floor with dents in the sides.

On the wall opposite the cans was an old poster with tears and stains promoting a Potion... A Super Potion to precise, selling for 400 at the Pokémon center in the city. The bottom of the past was torn off along with the details as to why this potion was selling at a low price. I think i can remember hearing something like an event in Castelia city back when I was 6 years old.

As I got to the end of the alley i heard a woman screaming in the distance, then silence. Did that woman make it out that day? That I never knew.

"Hm?" I noticed a person walking down the street leading towards the pier, he wore a black suit, shoes and pants, from the way he was walking and looking left and right continuously it was like he was lost.

 _"Is he lost? Maybe he knows where this 'Safe Zone' is."_ I thought after looking back to Oshawott and Latias as they looked back and forth from the alley to the open street a few times. Walking out of the alleyway and into the open street with Oshawott and Latias following closely, I called out to the man successfully gaining his attention. As he turned I noticed he had something in his hand... it was a pistol. He aimed the gun at and ordered "Freeze!" I paused in place keeping my hands up, Oshawott and Latias did the same.

"Are you one of them!?" Shouted the man as he took a small step forward.

 _"Them? Does he mean those... Pokémon things?"_ I thought as i stood there wondering what he meant.

"I said are you one of them!?" ordered the man again. I opened my mouth and stuttered "W-what d-do you... m-m-mean?" Silence was all that was heard on the streets of Castelia, i noticed the sirens had stopped and so did the screaming, how long ago did they stop i wondered.

The man lowered his gun and jogged towards us but looked around carefully as he did. I didn't know if I should lower my arms or not thinking if i did he would assume i was trying something and I would be shot... or yelled at.

"Phew..." He sighed "You're not one of them." Feeling as if i was alright to lower my arms, i curiously asked him about the Safe Zone i was alerted to right after the attack.

"Uh, excuse me sir, we're new to this city and um... where is the Safe Zone..." I paused "...from the announcement?" I quickly added.

The man who i noticed had a badge attached to his suit, but this wasn't any ordinary badge, this badge was a Savior badge that all members of the Saviors obtain upon joining. the badge was the roughly the size of a gym badge made of either metal or plastic, it was circle in shape with a blue background, yellow outline and a red S symbol on the front.

He looked at me and cleared his throat before answering. "It is located within Central Street." (Central, that area in Castelia City that leads to the other streets and the city exit.) "C'mon, i'll escort you and your Pokémon."

"Wait!" I said remembering that Sakura was still out there somewhere, maybe. "There's this girl, she was with me but we got separated." The Savior member looked back at me. "Once we get there, I'll have some of our soldiers search for her." He turned back to Central Street, "It's not safe out here, and we need to hurry." And with that we ran up the street towards Central Street, I noticed that some of the shop windows were cracked or broken, on the left side of the street a window had blood at the bottom of the glass, was it a persons or was it the monsters blood i wondered. Bags of shopping people had bought recently had chose to drop their purchased goods to save themselves from these things that had attacked anything they saw that wasn't their kind. I remembered seeing a car parked right outside the Pokéball Store that was covered in blood; the left front tire was scratched by something large. At the back inside of the car was a baby seat covered in blood, but there was no body to be found.

As we reached Central Street it was almost deserted, expect for a couple of soldiers armed with assault rifles outside a large building in between other buildings. The building on the left had the word 'SIGHT' written in black with a white background. The building on the right had the word 'Desires' written in a goofy green font with a purple background. SIGHT is a video game company that successfully accomplished the first virtually reality simulation console 'Senses' I wasn't a fan of their games but i did find them interesting. Desires was a strip club 4 years back but it shut down after a drug lord hid in the place for 4 months and a massive shootout held place.

As I followed the Savior member he stopped me from moving and approached a solider holding a strange device in his right hand.

"Found a boy on Fourth Street accompanied by an Oshawott and a Latias." The solider walked up to me first and used the device. "The solider here is just scanning you for any infection." That wasn't true, the scanner wasn't to check if you had a infection or a disease, they were checking to see if you had a bomb or a concealed weapon. They didn't scan Oshawott or Latias, it was like they didn't exist to the solider with the scanner, but the other soldiers did notice their presence as they stared right back at them.

I even heard another guard just outside the entrance of the building talk about Latias. "Wow, is that a Latias?" the shorter solider asked to the larger one whilst resting an assault rifle on his left shoulder. "I think i heard they're from Hoenn or maybe Johto. They are very rare and Pokémon collectors want to obtain them, no matter what the owner tells them." After hearing that i thought about putting Latias back in her ball until we got someplace more private and secure. I never did like hiding Latias away like that. I decided to keep her out of her ball for a little while longer, it's not like a so-called Pokémon collector will try to obtain Latias anytime soon.

Entering the building I moved my eyes left and right to see what the interior of this Safe Zone was like. White tiled walls and a grey floor. The room was rectangular in shape, it wasn't large, and there were no tables, no desks or chairs so it could fit several families in here easily. I saw a few Savoir members talking amongst themselves; one woman in particular gathered around another woman and two men wearing the same black suits as one another comforting her as she cried loudly gaining the attention of two soldiers near me.

 _"She's crying... did she lose someone? A friend maybe? Hope she will be alright."_ That crying woman reminded me when my mom cried about her parent's death, they both died in a tragic plane crash when I was only 6 years old. Like any other child at a young age didn't understand the concept of death and never seeing them again. I don't remember them much, if we played together much, nothing but a blur. Lose is a terrible thing, especially if it's someone you have known for a long time...

We had now entered the elevator, Latias was levitating behind, despite her size she was able to fit inside the elevator, and the guard didn't seem to mind. Oshawott got back in his position in my left shoulder looking at his reflection on the metallic like wall. Suddenly I heard what seemed to be gunfire from the outside. Those soldiers outside the building were probably attacking those monsters. As the doors closed and the elevator began its descent, the sounds of guns and yelling became quieter and quieter until I could only hear breathing from all four of us and the elevator still in motion.

The elevator doors opened as it came to stop at basement floor 3. Like the entrance of the building, this floor looked like an exact replica, except that this room had brown couches at opposite ends of the room with a tall black lamp at each corner. We had left the elevator and walked towards a man who had just entered from the double doors in front of us. The man like other members wore a black suit, pants and shoes. He was probably in his late 30s, blonde hair, stubble, and he had a 2 inch scar across his nose, another scar but a lot smaller on the left side on the center of his cheek, he had a tired expression, eyes black, and he was smoking a cigarette that looked like it was just lit.

"Room 17 is full." He said before breathing out smoke. "Take him to room 12."

The man standing next to me responded with "Yes sir."... Or was it "Yeah sir."? Anyone one of them will do, it's not like I am trying to write up everything I did with 100% accuracy but I'll try.

Following the Savior member close by with Latias levitating close behind me with her two paws clutched around my arm i overheard people within each of the rooms labelled '01' '08' '09' and '14' mixed voices and crying of people and a few Pokémon, I couldn't make out even one voice since this area alone made me feel anxious.

Suddenly we stopped outside a room at the end of a hall. Room 17 labelled across the top center of the white door. The door opened automatically upon approach and inside sitting down were an old man and woman probably in their late 60s beside one another on a red couch near a projection screen showing images every few seconds of trees, forests, landscapes. The room alone wasn't too big, but from the looks of it the room could fit 3 families inside, maybe more. It was rectangular in shape; a blue carpet covered the wooden floor. White walls with wall lights on both corners of the room. Apart from the old couple were Sakura sitting on a brown armchair with a Marill resting on her lap. she didn't appear injured, but as I stood there for what felt like time had slowed down for me I could've sworn I saw a large scar on her thigh just below the knee. Before I entered I scanned the room again to the left. A few inches away from the old couple was a girl in her teens sitting down on an armchair similar to the one Sakura was sitting on. She had short purple hair that reached down to her neck; her eyes were green like grass. From the looks of her she was probably a foreigner, couldn't say where she was from. She was wearing a white short sleeved buttoned shirt with a black tie around her neck. She wore black shorts and black sneakers. I also noticed that she had a Savior badge hanging on her shirt, but this badge had another symbol underneath the large 'S', it looked like a globe, a small miniature globe.

"Zack!" I heard my name call out to me startling the Savior member next to me. Sakura had gotten up and quickly walked up to me with the Marill in her arms still.

"Are you alright Zack?" she asked, but i only nodded in response. Walking in I sat down next to Sakura on another armchair that was next to her. Oshawott sat down on my lap while Latias rested her head on my right knee, her presence gained the attention of the old couple.

"How did you manage to find this place?" I asked attempting to break the unsettling silence; it was as if the room was soundproof.

"After we got separated," she said as she continued looking at the Marill sleeping on her lap "A Savior member helped me and a few other people to the safe zone." Her face became pale as she held up her right hand at her mouth as if she was about to be sick. "T-those... t-things... they attacked a woman and a little boy..." She breathed in and out slowly in an attempt to calm herself down; I didn't want to upset her so i just stayed quiet and waited.

As I was waiting for things to get back to normal the door opened as a tall man wearing a Savior suit entered the room. He had short black hair and wore glasses. His Savior badge like the purple haired girl had another image below the 'S' symbol; it looked like a syringe... _"A doctor maybe?"_ I questioned at whether or not these images of syringes and a globe were some sort of identification of what their job roles are within the Saviors.

"Excuse me, Zack Raines is it?" I looked back to the man standing at the door to see the man who had called my name. "Yes?" I responded in a nervous voice as i stood up facing the man.

"My name is Billy Moore, I am a doctor here within the Saviors. I recognised you from the application form i read recently." I lightly scratched my head only to realise that Oshawott was on my shoulder again, didn't even see him get up. "Your friends can wait here while we get everything ready for you." He said as he turned towards the door.

Sakura grabbed a bottle of water and gave it to Marill who was now awake; from the looks of it the Marill seemed angry about something. "Zack, I'll stay here for now, meet up later?" Her voice calm as she said that, "Sure, see you soon." I waved to her as i walked out of the room with Latias levitating behind me. As the door shut, Billy noticed Latias and smiled.

"Is that a Latias?" He said causing Latias to hide behind me but half of her face poked behind me to watch Billy. "I heard they are legendary Pokémon from Hoenn?" He asked as I looked at Latias once more before looking at Billy again. "She is a Latias, I didn't give her a name, and I just call her by her species like my other Pokémon." We began walking down the narrow corridor with all of the doors shut with muffled noises coming out of each one of them.

"It's rare to see a legendary within the building, in fact this is the first legendary we have seen in years." Curious, i had to ask "You saw another legendary?" he continued looking straight ahead as he answered "It was a Lugia. When i saw it i couldn't believe my eyes. At first i thought it was a different Pokémon or a prank, but the sound it made as it flew past the city, that roar it made... I knew it was the real one." We turned the corner of the corridor and walked up towards a room with a sign reading 'Cafeteria'.

The cafeteria was slightly dimmer than previous rooms. The floor was wooden with a few small holes and small scratches every few steps. Each wall had a red wall lamp attached to each wall of the rectangle shaped room. The wallpaper was brown with a painting on all sides of the wall except for the wall with the cashier desk. In the room were a few Savior members sitting beside one another. One in the corner of the room was covered in blood, from the look of it, it wasn't his. He had a cup of coffee in front of him which he never drank.

Billy walked over to a table and sat down on the chair near the wall and called me over to sit. As soon as I sat down I noticed a few of the Savior members looking at me but mostly Latias levitating behind me. Oshawott had sat down on the table eating a sugar cube he found in a small dish near a box of napkins, spoons and forks.

"Lee!" Billy called over a man from behind the cash register who was at the time reading a magazine titled 'Pokémon Research'. The man named Lee had short back spiky hair that pointed up, slightly tanned skin, a few scars on his face and neck. he appeared to be within his 40s or 50s. He wore a white vest with a few small holes on his chest. Black shorts and black sandals. He then approached us standing near the table with his arms folded. Oshawott realized that he was behind him and looked up at him. Lee stared at Oshawott then looked at me then Billy. With a sigh he said "Listen Billy, the cafe is closed for the moment." Billy shook his head "No, that's not what i was about to ask." He then picked up a page from the documents he had on the table and passed it to him. "This is an application form for the new recruit. I just need one more approval from a rank 02 member." Lee covered his mouth as he began to read the document as his eyes moved up and down every few seconds, finally Lee opened his mouth "And i have to sign this?" Billy smiled and passed him a pen, Billy grabbed it and signed the form.

I then gave Billy a handshake as he smiled. "Zack Raines, you are now a member of the Saviors. Congratulations." Lee placed the form on the table and after Billy had shook my hand, Lee offered his hand so i shook his hand as he smiled.

"The names Lee White, kid." As he let go of my hand he placed his hand on my left shoulder as he began to walk out of the room, "Welcome to the Saviors, Kid." Everyone in the room seemed angry at that, one solider stared at me with a pocket knife in his hand as he carved something on the table. Latias however was hugging me nonstop while Oshawott continued to eat more sugar cubes. Billy however grabbed more documents from the table and began to read them. For a long time i had always dreamed of becoming a Savior member, the thought of entering the front entrance to make my way to the reception desk to hand in my application form.

This day began with so many people about to meet friends, family, going to work or buy thing from stores. But those lives were be cut short because of those strange monsters. I wondered what would happen if I came to this city a few minutes earlier or later even, would I still be standing in this room with Sakura? Today, all of Unova had witnessed Team Annihilation's latest weapon. On the same day i joined the Saviors.

To be continued...

* * *

Trivia:

A character was set to appear within the story that was seen as a corrupt and cruel member of the Saviors, but that character was cut because of time.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading. Positive and negative reviews are welcome.**


	5. Chapter 5 To become a Savior

CHAPTER 05-TO BECOME SAVIOR 

2 days have passed since the attack on Castelia City. It was revealed that Team Annihilation attacked the city using a new kind of weapon. The Saviors have stationed Patrols on both exits of the city and will shoot down any helicopter or plane that approaches the city or does not respond to their warning.

47 people and 8 Pokemon died within 1 hour of the attack, 17 are still in hospital in critical conditions because of that Onix like monster on the rampage, Some won't survive long due to their injuries.

I remember hearing about a mother crying over her two children who had died due to their injuries a few hours ago. They were attacked by one of those things, one of the children were bit, the other forcefully thrown into a building tearing off their leg in the process.

Sakura continued to stay with me until things calmed down a little. A few buildings within the city remained open and a curfew was in effect.

With permission we made our way to the Saviors HQ and entered its glass automatic double doors. In front of me were a large squared fountain surrounded by benches and plants at each corner. In front of the corner was the reception desk with two women sitting beside one another, one was typing something into he computer in front of her, while the other was on the phone. The north east side of the entrance were two elevators beside one another, and a door leading to the stairs.

We walked up to the desk and the woman on the computer noticed and smiled, "Yes, can I help you?" she asked.

"uh, my name is Zack Raines... i'm ready to start my job here..." Nervous, I could feel my heart beating fast. Thinking back to what Billy said about coming here when I was ready. _"Maybe I should've waited a few hours to start... or another day."_

"Yes, Zack Raines. Mr Stone is waiting for you in his office. Take the elevator to floor 12 and wait right outside until you are called in." She said as she pointed towards the two elevators to my right.

"Thanks" I said as I made my way to the elevator.

The wait for the elevator wasn't long. The elevator doors opened, no one was inside as we stepped in and pressed the '12' button. I didn't like going inside elevators; one I guess it made me feel claustrophobic, and second, I know it sounds stupid and kind of silly but every movie I have seen involving a short scene with elevators... they either get stuck or it falls. Gladly, the elevator stopped as it reached the 12th floor. the area wasn't too large, in front of us were a large double door with the label 'Mr Clark Stone' on the right side door. There were two cameras, one in the right side corner of the room facing the elevator, and the other was on the left side facing the double doors. the floor was covered in a dark red carpet, from the looks of it the carpet reached into Clark's office. Finally the walls were wooden, a few pictures on the left side wall reading 'The Saviors, always there for you.'.

We sat down on one of the couches nearest the elevator and waited in silence.

Oshawott however walked in the middle of the room looking around staring at the picture about the Saviors.

Suddenly the door of the office opened catching both of our attention.

A man wearing a dark gray suit. He was elderly in appearance, late 50s maybe? I never knew. He had a small scar on his upper lip, most of it was covered by a gray beard that grew across his face.

"Zack Raines?" He asked, "Come inside." At that I got up and turned towards Sakura who looked up at me. "I'll wait out here." she said to me as she held the sleeping Marill. "Alright, I won't be long." I replied as I began walking towards the door as it was held open by Clark stone. Oshawott followed closely behind me as we entered the office.

The office was large and slightly dark since the only source of light was the large window at the back of the office with a large desk in front of it. as Clark walked over to his desk, I looked around the room as I followed. The desks at both sides of the room had photos of people smiling and people giving Clark an award of some kind. As we approached the desk, Clark sat down in his armchair and I sat down on one of the three chairs in front of his desk. Oshawott sat down next to me looking around the room.

"So, you are the new recruit." he said as he picked up some documents that looked like the same one I signed with Billy and Lee at the Safe Zone. "We were expecting you two days ago, but due to unexpected events..." he paused as he looked closely at the documents. "Your name is Raines, right?" He looked up awaiting for my reply, "Yes sir." I responded.

Clark looked at the documents once more and placed them down on the desk with his hands crossed.

"I would like to welcome you Zack to the Saviors," he began as he stood up walking towards the window. "In a moment we will take a tour around the building, meet your co-workers etcetera. After that you will begin your training to see what rank you start off with." After that he paused for a moment, I didn't know if he was waiting for me to respond so I just sat there and waited nervously. "There are 10 Ranks within the Saviors, 1-10. Rank 1 is the highest rank any savior member can achieve. upon reaching said rank a savior member has the following choices; become a board member with the chances of starting your own faction within the saviors. continue doing missions with other members such as yourself... actually that's it." he looked outside of the window again to view the Castelia city blue ocean that covered the window. "Rank 10-09 is staying here to train some more, learn the basics. rank 08 - 06 go on missions around Unova and only Unova. They cover small time missions that are considered easy. Rank 05-03 can go to other regions to start missions, these are the advanced kind and only given to those who have earned it. Rank 02 can access worldwide missions and these missions are much more difficult that previous ranks combined." He turned towards me and Oshawott sitting there and said with a smile "But with training from us, you can become a first in no time... probably a few years if you work hard."

He cleared his throat "Come, let us walk around the building and see most of the facilities and members you'll be working with." We got up and walked towards the exit. As Clark opened the door he noticed Sakura sitting down.

"Oh, are you Zack's friend?" He asked as she now stood up facing him. "We are. You must be Clark Stone, right?" As the two introduced each other, I only stared at them as they spoke. Clark looked back at me and walked towards the elevator as the doors opened. all three of us stepped in along with Marill who was still in her arms and Oshawott who had climbed up on my shoulder.

"First let's go to the Medical floor." Clark pressed one of the buttons as the doors of the elevator shut. After a short while in the elevator the doors opened to a white, brighter area than Clark's office. The floor was tiled white and the walls were made of stone but painted gray. The entire area was in the shape of an 'E' with the waiting area and elevator in the center of the 'E' and the top and bottom of the 'E' were the surgery and patient rooms.

"This is the medical floor." He began as he showed us around. "This is the place for when you have an injury should you require treating, obviously." He chuckled as he entered the elevator again as we followed closely. "We do not only heal people, but we can also heal Pokemon free of charge to all members within the saviors. Billy a Rank 01 within the saviors runs the medical team and ensures that all doctors and staff are treated well."

"I met Billy at the Safe Zone." I spoke up feeling as if I should make some conversation. "He was treating the injured there, well still is. Is that how you signed up?" Clark questioned as I had now entered the elevator. "He recognized me in one of the Safe Zone rooms. I signed the document along with Billy and this man named Lee."

"Lee huh? Let's go see him." Clark pressed another button as the doors shut. again after a while of waiting inside that elevator, the doors opened to a floor that resembled a large office area, and there in front of the office was the man who I met in the safe zone, "Lee!" Clark shouted as he walked over to Clark.

Lee noticed Clark as he shouted over to him as he was reading a magazine.

"Sup' boss." Lee smirked as he stood up with his arms crossed. "This is the new recruit, Zack Raines. I'm showing him around the building before starting the training." Lee now looked at me, "Oh yeah, you're that kid with Billy two days ago. Again, nice to meet you." he smiled. "Yeah." I said in response.

"Lee," Clark began, "Could you show Zack around the building? I have to go to make an important phone call." he said as he walked over to the elevator.

"Sure boss." Lee said scratching his head. Clark turned around before entering the elevator to face me, "Good luck on your training soon. I'll be there for when you finish." I nodded to his response as the doors to the elevator shut leaving me, Sakura and Lee standing alone near the elevators.

"So, training eh? that'll be cool." He said as he walked over to a drink machine and inserted some coins inside. "What is the training like?" I asked curiously. "Training is done by virtual reality. The person and his/her Pokemon joining wear helmets and a body suit as they enter this world that seems real where they complete a set of missions. completing a set of three missions will determine which rank you are in." He responded with a smile and a thumbs up "But don't worry kid, it ain't dangerous or life threatening." He drank some of his hot chocolate and walked up to me "C'mon kid," he patted my back, "Let's meet the others, oh wait!" he looked around the area and pointed everywhere. "This is the office floor, come here to fill in reports from missions, internet browsing when no one is looking or play some pc game you find interesting. This isn't my floor...You'll find me most of the time on the training floor, but I'm not some kind of gym leader... exercise I mean. I'm what you call a living Pokédex." Curious as to what he meant by that, I had to ask "A living Pokédex? What does that mean?" Lee pointed at his chest and began "I know Pokémon moves, where to find them, breeding information, what a Pokémon is weak and immune to. Just ask me anything about Pokemon and I guarantee you I'll know." Sakura looked at Marill ad back at Lee, "Which region does Marill come from?" Lee looked at the Marill Sakura was carrying, he stood there for a minute with his eyes closed tight. "Marill... Marill is from... from the... region of..." he started clicking his fingers above his head. "C'mon damn it... fuck... Johto! Yes! That's the damned region." Sakura giggled at that were I just smiled. Lee Laughed himself and walked towards the elevator. "C'mon, let's go."

The elevator ride down was... silent, except for the elevator music that started to play. It was a strange tune... kind of sad in a way like I have heard it before from when I was still a kid. I didn't think much more on that song playing and just zoned out until we reached the training floor located at the basement of the building.

Upon leaving the elevator still playing that music we entered a corridor with two double doors on both sides of each end of the corridor. Lee walked towards the right door while we followed closely behind.

The room we had now entered wasn't too big, it was filled with computers and electronic devices with a few Savior members sitting near them typing things on the keyboards in front of them.

"Hey Lee" I looked over to see the same girl that was in the safe zone with us. "Reiko? So the old man let you work again after what happened yesterday?" he said with a grin, Reiko smiled at him and giggled, "Yeah, I called dad and told him Clark was annoying me again." Lee chuckled at her response and looked at me. "Reiko, I would like to introduce you to the new recruit who had just started recently. His name is Zack Raines, he's 14 years old, 1 year younger than you." Reiko then looked to me and smiled, "Nice to meet you Zack. I will be helping you on your missions as I serve as a guide for a lot of members of the Saviors. I help them with where locations are within a city or village, building information, and also the locations for a saviors next mission starting point should be. I'll look forward to be working with you." she said smiling as I nodded in response, "Me too.".

"A new guy hm?" an elderly man, probably older than Clark appeared behind me with a walking stick in one hand and carrying a few documents in the other. He wore a lab coat with the Saviors badge attached. "Hey old timer, didn't see ya there. How's life in the labs going?" Lee chuckled to himself as he rubbed his forehead smiling, the old man's expression from calm didn't as he now looked at him. "No progress yet." he coughed, Reiko stepped forward, "Doctor, this is the new recruit Zack Raines." So the doctor looked at me now, "Welcome to the Saviors building Mr. Raines. My name is Dr Guard, Dr Julius Guard... just call me Dr Guard if you must." He then turned to the ceiling watching the fan above us spinning at a fast speed. "Dangerous things... they could fall on you and chop you in pieces." Walking away from us, the doctor threw the documents in a trashcan near the entrance of the room. "C'mon old man, these things are perfectly safe!" he shouted towards Dr Guard as he continued to chuckle lightly to himself. Dr Guard... that last name didn't seem like a real name to me, I thought at the time people here obtained nicknames for what they did like for example saving a village from a legendary attack 'Dr Hero' or curing 20+ people/Pokemon from serious injuries in one night 'Dr Savior'... I don't know, something like that.

"Dr Guard studies weapons, equipment, items and vehicles we use for outdoor missions." Reiko said as she continued to stare at the doctor as he seemed to be reading from the computer screens, "He also studies on biology-" "You mean them freaks?" Lee had interrupted Reiko a he shook his head. "'Freaks'? You mean those strange mosnters that attacked the city?" I asked them both as I looked back and forth at both Reiko and Lee, normally I didn't say anything unless asked... hmm "Reanimated Corpses." Dr Guard said with his back turned, gaze still on the now black computer screen. "It's the name I thought of at the time of the first sighting. RAs (Reanimated Corpses) first appeared 2 years ago on an island near Unova." The doctor walked towards us, "Lee was sent in to investigate along with 15 soldiers. They later learnt that Team Annihilation had been secretly building weapons, and those weapons were RAs." Lee held his hand up like a child would do in school "RAs appear living, but it is like they are something other than a pokemon or a human... like some sort of demon."

"RAs during the first ever experiment was in fact someone's Pokemon once that died years ago." Shocked at this and curious to know, I had to ask "Died? You mean they were dead to begin with?"

"It would seem so," Dr Guard responded not changing his expression once. "We did tests on the poor Pokemon to find out whether or not it was his Pokemon that had died, and you know what we found? The answer was Yes, it was his Pokemon. The man's Pokémon had no right eye and it's right arm was missing, and on its leg were 3 long scratch scars. Photo's the man brought us had proved that this Pokémon was brought back dead but by horrible and cruel ways, a weapon that only hunts and obeys." They talked about these Reanimated Corpses for a while. Reiko, Lee and Dr Guard had stories about those monsters and how they are different from any other Pokemon or human. According to Dr Guard, RAs can survive in water for a long time (30 Minutes), they can survive large falls and heal a wound and/or broken bone quickly, but if their limbs come apart whereas a living being wouldn't survive without it say like their upper torso was sliced off they would survive.

RAs can only die if they sustained a massive amount of damage for too long.

"So uh, who is this?" Reiko asked looking over to Sakura standing beside me. "Her name is Sakura Kanai, she isn't here to join the Saviors." I replied as Oshawott nodded and did that 'Osha' thing. Reiko looked to Sakura and shook her hand greeting one another.

Reiko turned to face me "So Zack, ready to start your training?"

 _"Training huh? Okay... here we go." I_ nodded in response to her question, Reiko walked over to a chair and started typing something on the keyboard in front of her.

"Hey kid" Lee said as he smiled at me. "Good luck on your training."

"Thanks." I responded as I walked towards where Lee was pointing to a sign reading 'Training Room' above double automatic doors. Sakura sat down next to Lee as I had entered the room.

I had to admit that I was nervous as I had entered the training room. When I entered the building for the first time I thought I would get so nervous that I would walk away from city and go home... but i'm glad that never happened. As for the people that I would be working with, I thought they would be like the ones from school, but they were different from what I was expecting, like Latias, Oshawott and Sakura, all of them were nice to me to the point htat made me smile a little, that feeling made me feel as if I wasn't alone in this world, that it wasn't just me, my sister, mother and Latias.

The training room was black with green checkered like floor, wall and ceiling like someone had folded a chess board into a box. I thought where the obstacles where and why there were nothing but myself and Oshawott inside this dark room.

"Zack, ca you hear me? We can hear you." It was Reiko voice on the loudspeakers. I quickly responded to Reiko with a simple "Yeah."

"This is the training room. Here members of the Saviors come here to train to get fit and to get better results when they are out on the field. Think of it as virtual reality. On the screen I will show you in just a second are the rules of the training. after you have read them please let us know."

A Blue screen suddenly appeared in front of us, it appeared to be hovering, there were no wires, no supports of any kind. It then lit up witht he following words displayed in black:

Rules:

can use your Pokemon to help you in missions.

HP reaches 0 for all allies in your party the mission is over and your HP will be restored.

missions are timed, some are not. try not to push yourself too hard.

you require rest please say the phrase 'Computer: Rest activated.' You are given a 10 minute break but must return to point of rest activation or you will lose score towards your final grade.

cannot die within the training room nor your allies.

of your mission data will be recorded.

smoking is allowed within the training room.

all ends at 200.

cheating. (Console command is disabled, No clip will result in failure.)

and/or phone use is not available within the training room.

after reading through all of the rules on the floating screen I looked up at the ceiling (Didn't know where to look at the time.) "Okay, I have finished reading them." The screen then vanished along with the black and green room.

"Alright Zack, the training room is loading now so let's start with an easy one for now. Do you have any questions before we begin?" I paused thinking of things I would want to know about... but nothing came to mind, the rules saw to that. "I have nothing to ask." I said with a long silence that followed. Oshawott had tapped the top of my head gaining my attention.

"Oshawott!" You pointed towards the exit of the training room to see it had now vanished like the door was never there to begin with. Then like a blink the whole room had changed from a dark room to a large forest, a blue cloudless sky. A text appeared in front of us like the floating screen from earlier read out the following:

01 Race - Mission Begins!

Objective:

Find the finish line as fast as you can.

After reading from the screen, the text and the screen instantly vanished, it was as if it knew I finished reading off it, was it good timing or something to do with this room watching my eye movement, I didn't know.

Sound effects began to play throughout this simulation, sounds like mild wind, the sound of a few cars passing by, probably a nearby road or something, and also the faint sound of Pokémon speech which made Oshawott circle everywhere to locate the Pokémon speaking... I wonder now whether or not there were any Pokémon besides mine in this room... simulated ones I mean, wondered how these people did something like this.

The room felt as if the ac was on high, the breeze sure did feel nice.

The ground didn't feel flat, I didn't notice it at first but it was replaced with small pebbles and a broken twig or two, the ground lightly brown/golden like warm sand.

 _"Whoa, this is pretty cool..."_ Amazed as I stared at the new scenery around me, it was like I was really here, a minute ago I was in a dark cubed shaped room to an open forest.

"Okay, let's head towards the goal." Determined, I started to run in the direction in front of me believing it was the way towards the goal and not a dead end. Thinking back to that day of the first mission to find a goal in a simulated forest I can't remember much about it since I was rushing through everything to make sure I wouldn't fail at my first mission. It was nothing but a green and brown blur and the sound of my breathing as I ran as fast as I could.

Eventually, I reached n open area outisde of the forest, it was a large green field with no signs of any buildings, roads or any sign of life. Stopping to take a small breath, I noticed from the corner of my right eye a large hill, and on top of the hill was a white pole with a small red flag on top.

 _"Is that the goal?" I_ thought at first thinking there were more to it in the first task. So I just shrugged it off and walked in the direction of the flag.

Finally reaching the hill, I noticed small footprints leading away from the hill and into the forest, each footprint had tiny drops of water inside, from the looks of it, the hill was probably wet from rain recently. I then began to walk up the hill, but after I place my first step up the foot sunk in the wet mud hidden beneath grass that looked dry. Annoyed I pulled my foot out and stepped back onto the dry grass. Staring at the flag on top of the hill so close felt as if this hill was mocking me, I don't know, something like that.

Staring at the footprints leading to the top of the hill made me think about something, _"The step I took to get to the hill was steep. Maybe the footprints are like, showing me a way to get up this hill? *Sighs* Alright..."_ As I walked up to the footprints, I stepped on one of them to test if this wasn't too steep for my foot to get stuck in, as if it wasn't a trick at least.

Stepping on the footprint, I put pressure on it and waited... nothing happened, the only thing I felt was a solid ground beneath my foot that I had placed on top of the footprint. Smiling as I had now placed my other foot on the other footprint, and like the first step I waited... again, nothing happened, no stuck feet, nothing but a sigh of relief as I began slowly towards the top of the hill.

Finally reaching the top, the flag was so close to, inches even. I looked around one more time, even looking down from the hill to where I first stepped into the hill and where I came out of the forest. I wonder, what would've happened if I never chose to walk up the hill by following the footprints? Would I had been too slow to reach the top?

Touching the pole, the scene changed yet again from a green field and blue sky to a village like area that was raining heavily. The village was kind've old, like it was deserted. A few houses had broken windows and signs above certain doors reading 'Quarantine' The village didn't look familiar, then again, maybe all of these locations, the hill and this village are all created from someone's creative mind... maybe.

Suddenly, that screen from earlier appeared out of nowhere in front of us and read out:

02 Battle - Mission Begins!

Objective:

Defeat the Team Annihilation Member located within the village with your Pokemon.

Above me and Oshawott's heads were the words 'HP' followed by the numbers '32/32' for Oshawott and '24/24' for me.

"Oshawott!" Oshawott had shouted after he had jumped down from my shoulder and onto the wet floor, waving his paws around and then pointing towards a building that appeared burnt.

"Oshawott? what's-" I looked in the direction Oshawott was pointing to, there was someone there aiming what appeared to be a sniper rifle at me, then, like a blink, it happened.

 ***Bang!***

My head... I was shot... this was how I died, this was how I got where I am now to tell you this short story... okay, I lied at that.

Falling to the ground as my head were I was hit by a bullet felt as if I was slapped in face but this left a burning pain on my head that lingered for a while.

In pain, Oshawott ran over to me with his scalchop activated. The numbers above my head had changed from '24/24' to '16/24'.

Rubbing my forehead, I managed to get up and crawl quickly towards a fence for cover. Oshawott followed but lowered his scalchop as he was a step or two near the corner of the fenced that I had crawled behind.

 ***Bang!***

"Osha!" Oshawott was shot on the back of his head. picking him up, I placed him beside me away from the snipers aim. His numbers like mine when I was shot changed to '25/32'.

 _"Maybe I can bring Latias into this... she knows the move protect so that should gives us a lot of help. But against a bullet? Well, since this is training, may as well see if she can stop a fast moving object such as a bullet."_ Grabbing her Pokéball from the inside of my bag, I pointed it towards the floor beside me and out came Latias as she materialized hugging me.

"Laa, Laa!" She sang happily as she began to levitate above me to stretch out her wings,

 ***Bang!***

Another shot fired at the wall a few inches above Latias, the sound alone made her lose her levitation only to fall on my lap hiding her head in my shirt. She probably doesn't know what was going on, the last time she was outside of her Pokeball was early this morning when I was feeding her.

"Latias," I said stroking her long neck to comfort her. "It's alright, this is a virtual reality mission the Saviors set up for training. No one will get killed here, it's fake." Latias removed her head out from under my shirt, she seemed relieved at that this whole thing wasn't real,

 ***Bang!***

But the gunshots sounded real, not like movie gunshots. Latias jumped at another gunshot that hit the top of the fence and hid her head underneath my shirt again.

"Latias, could you use Protect for us?" She removed her head from under my shirt again to look up at me. "We have to defeat that Annihilation member in there." Latias replied with a nod and looked up at the top of the fence and back at me.

 _"I should tell Latias to use Protect. Me and Oshawott will follow behind her gaining protection from the gunman inside the building and take him out... yeah, that sounds good. It's not like anyone if going to get hurt in this simulation."_ Smiling at something I called progress to finish the training I explained to both Oshawott and Latias about how we could reach the building where the gunman was.

I still had '16/24' HP, Oshawott had '25/32' HP, and Latias had '46/46' HP... but as for Totodile, guess it was time to bring him out to assist us.

Totodile had now emerged from his pokéball now standing in front of us happily jumping up and down, "Totodile!" Totodile's display above his read out '36/36'.

"Okay, Latias," I said that got her attention, "I want you to go to the corner of the fence and use protect while use three will follow behind until we get to the building behind us." Latias nodded and levitated from the ground towards the edge of the fence, I quickly got up into a crouching position and followed her closely. Totodile and Oshawott also caught up waiting near Latias as she activated Protect.

With Protect activated she nervously moved out into the opening with all three of us following closely behind her.

 ***Bang!***

The snipers bullet ricochet off Protect and hit the ground inches away from Latias startling her. Latias almost stopped using Protect as she stumbled back a little into me, but she continued using Protect and levitated forward at a steady pace. Oshawott and Totodile walked close to my feet as I walked but sometimes stayed behind me as the hidden sniper continued shooting bullet after bullet at Latias using Protect. Latias from my position appeared to be getting tired from using Protect this long. Latias had never used her moves that much and didn't train much, it was mostly found in the river near Nuvema and as for Mist ball, she had that when I found her, Psychic was a self taught move she learnt after watching videos from a movie about a Latias called... Super Latias wearing a cape was a superhero who would save people and Pokémon from criminals and super villains... it was as an alright movie, from what I remember from that movie, it spawned 3 movie sequels and one prequel with an anime adaption that Latias liked to watch when she were young... *chuckles* sometimes she would dress up as Super Latias using my mom's clothes...

Uh- oh right, sorry to get distracted like that, so uh... When we had almost reached the house with the sniper inside I looked at Latias holding her... wherever a Latias' shoulder would be... if they had one... let's say the neck for now.

"It's going to be alright Latias, see?" I pointed past her head towards the house that was only 10 steps away, I was expecting some firing, but all we got was silence, the kind of silence that any noise made would be unsettling.

But suddenly, as we got like 50 inches towards the house, Latias stopped using Protect and was shot. A loud shriek made by Latias as the bullet hit her neck causing her to cough whilst holding her lower neck with both paws. Totodile, Oshawott and I grabbed Latias and pulled her towards the house wall so that none of us could be attacked.

Latias' HP now displayed as '30/46' it was probably a critical hit... critical hits did double damage there and sometimes in Pokémon battles they caused scars, cuts and very rarely a loss of a small limb like a finger from a paw or an ear, nothing too serious like a decapitation or torso had happened before. Trained Pokemon only knock out enemy Pokemon and not to kill...unless you had the moron of a trainer who didn't look after their Pokémon properly and that Pokemon behaves like a regular wild Pokemon, seriously injuring an enemy wild or trained Pokemon or kill.

I placed my hand beneath her jaw and lifted her head up slowly and gently to see the injury, but like Oshawott any myself from before there were no scratches, bruises or cuts, but this reality thing for Latias caused her to tear up. Seeing this, I petted her stroking just behind her ears making her smile as she wiped away the tears, man, that training simulation was kind of harsh.

I then noticed a door on the right of us leading into the house, was the target inside I wondered? I instructed Totodile to check to see if the door could be opened. Totodile tiptoed towards the door and slowly pulled the door open until it was half open, and then... silence, no gunshot, a surprise explosion, and no one rushing out of the house door.

Couching towards the door while Oshawott stayed with Latias with his razor shell activated, i couldn't hear anything from the inside, either that was a good thing or it was bad, thinking about the possibilities he could've left the house to another location.

I helped open the door a little wider to get a better view from the inside, burnt walls, burnt furniture and ash were the only things that remained inside the room. The smell of this house was strange, it was like i could smell smoke in here, that training simulation was good at that, making you believe you were there and not in a dry dark cold cubed room with no smell.

I signalled both Latias and Oshawott to approach us so we could enter the house together. there appeared to be no noises coming from inside the house, except for the ambience that played when we entered, it was some kind of wind noise that played on a continuous loop.

I had now entered the house first to get a better look inside, taking cover behind burnt furniture i noticed two doorways, both without doors, one on right and another in front of me. Looking back at my Pokemon, i waved them over to enter the house and take cover near me, Oshawott and Totodile ran inside and hid behind the same burnt furniture as me, now that I think about, the furniture was a couch i believe with burnt garbage on top. Latias noticed there wasn't any other furniture in the room where she could hide so instead she did that thing where she became invisible, something about the light or something... i don't know. But it was better than staying out in the open.

Suddenly i heard something like running footsteps getting closer to where we were. _"What the-? is he running away?"_ He wasn't running away, instead the running stopped as the man had now entered the room with the same gun he had been shooting at us with what seemed like an infinite ammo cheat or something.

The Annihilation solider was dressed in black, boots, pants, jacket, gloves and helmet were all black, the helmet had a yellow 'A' on the top of his helmet. He had a belt around his waist that had what appeared to be a knife sheathed and next to that knife were three grenades. He had something else around his back, but from where i was and where he was standing under the doorway i couldn't make it out.

He had saw us, but instead of using his rifle he instead threw it behind him and grabbed the weapon he had hidden behind his back, it appeared to be some kind of assault rifle.

A ball of energy emerged from Latias' mouth who was hiding near the corner of the room and forcefully made contact with the soldier as he hit the side of the door way kneeling down with a small grunt. Without awaiting a command, Totodile ran up to the downed solider and attempted to bite him on the leg, but the armor he was wearing seemed to nullify the pain from Totodile's bite. He punched Totodile a few times trying to get him off, but was stopped by Latias who lost her invisibility as she struggled to keep the man's right arm away and open to an attack, and i easily took it.

"Oshawott, Razor Shell!" I commanded to Oshawott as he ran around the corner of the furniture with his scalchop activated, he ran as fast as he could at the Annihilation member with an angry glare ready to strike, but the annihilation member managed to get his right arm free from Latias and started to choke her a little, thankfully Oshawott got there in time before he did any damage to her as Oshawott stabbed him with Razor shell right through his abdomen.

"Aghhh!" The Annihilation member grunted in pain as he was now stabbed, Oshawott never gave in and still stabbed him deeper trying to kill him. With his last bit of strength, the Annihilation member managed to punch Oshawott right int he face, but hard causing Oshawott to fall back. Totodile let go from the bite and backed away from him as he appeared to be struggling to stand up straight. With his left hand he dropped the assault rifle and unsheathed his knife, but Latias had used another Mist ball at him forcefully hitting the wall dropping the knife at the same. The Annihilation member stayed lying there on the ground bleeding but stayed still like a statue. Oshawott's HP now displayed as '19/32', Totodile's HP displayed as '27/36', Latias had '29/46' HP and myself had '16/24' HP left.

About a minute of waiting went by for what seemed like an hour, until the screen appeared once more followed by fanfare music that loudly echoed throughout the area as it shifted instantly to the dark room that i had last seen before the first training mission.

'Training 02/02 completed! Below are your results'

The results of the training are as followed

Mission Results:

HP Lost 047 B

Damage dealt 062 A

Enemy(s) 01/01 S

Secrets found 00/00 S

Saves 000 S

Continues 000 S

Item Use 00 S

Time 00:18:12 B

Grade Pass

I had passed my training exam, seeing that word 'Pass' on the bottom of the screen made me smile right there with my Pokemon now giving me a group hug that didn't seem to end. The feeling that i had more friends with me gave me a warm feeling inside, the kind that made me wonder then what it was.

"Congratulations Zack," Reiko said over the monitors gaining our attention as they now let go of me. "Please return so we can give you your Savior Rank."

As i made my way outside of the training room with my Pokemon following behind me, i was nervous to find out what rank i had gotten and how i had did during the training session. Did i get anything wrong? did i do something against the rules during training? these thoughts flashed through my mind as i began my way towards Reiko, Lee and Sakura now standing together awaiting for me to give me the results of the training session.

Both of them smiled, it was the smile that made me even more nervous than i was before, but to them, it looked like it was somehow good news for me... or it could be a smile from an earlier conversation they had.

"Zack," Reiko began clearing her throat in the process. "I congratulate you on becoming a... Rank 07 member of the Saviors." Rank 07 was one of the ranks Clark mentioned before about what rank you had to be to wander Unova to do missions. Smiling i was surrounded again by my Pokemon hugging me. Rank 07... I believed i would start my life in the Saviors as a 9 or 10 maybe, but a Rank 07 was great, something to be proud of.

 _"The road to a Rank 01 may be long and difficult, but hopefully i can become one."_

Later that day, news about me becoming a Rank 07 spread... not so much. A lot of Savior members were avoiding me still. Myself, Oshawott, Totodile, Latias, Sakura, Marill and Minccino all attend a small party as a reward for my training session. Reiko along with Lee, Billy, Dr Guard and Clark came as we all began to drink and eat the refreshments that were given to us by the chefs cooked and prepared for us. I was sitting down on a circular table eating a plate of food i picked out with Oshawott drinking a large cup of orange juice.

"So, you must be the new recruit, correct?" turning around to the voice, i looked up to see a woman dressed in a suit, she had long white hair to her chest, her eyes a chocolate brown and pale white skin. On her suit was a Savior badge, the symbol on her badge appeared to be some sort of pen... or something.

"Y-yeah, that's i- me." I replied awkwardly to which she giggled at as she sat down next to me. "My name is Clair Taylor, i am a counsellor here within the Saviors. "

"A counsellor?" I asked, "Yes, i help Savior members with problems they encounter on the battlefield, things like emotional problems and help them to cope with challenges they may face and hardships at work."

"Oh, uh... okay." either the food was drugged or i was just lazy to come up with a better response other than those three words... "Should you ever need to talk about things, just let me know. I am located on the 6th floor, feel free to come anytime." After that, Claire noticed Oshawott drinking the orange juice and petted him on his head. Oshawott stopped drinking and turned around to face her. Oshawott looked down first then looked up at her while blushing. "Oshawott... osha..." Uh...?

"Isn't he a cutie, is he yours?" she asked while lightly scratching underneath Oshawott's chin causing him to smile as he closed his eyes in delight. "He is."

She looked at Oshawott once more before stroking his head as she got up. "Zack, enjoy yourself whilst you are here. go and talk with the others, get to know some of them a bit more, hm?" her expression seemed calm and yet happy, so i smiled a little bit and agreed to her suggestion. Claire smiled and walked out of the room. Oshawott however was lying down on his stomach watching Claire leave with a goofy looking smile as his face became redder and tail wagging a lot. I got up and walked towards the others leaving Oshawott to continue staring at the door Claire disappeared to. Sakura now standing at the buffet placing some food on her plate was with Minccino eating a half eaten cookie.

"Hey Zack." She greeted as she noticed me approach her, "Oh right, congratulations on your training today, and also getting to Rank 07."

"Thanks." I replied with before smiling. "So, uh... what are you going to do now?" Sakura placed her plate down beside Minccino, "I don't know, i was thinking... maybe travel with you? I asked the others about it and they said to ask you. I won't get in your way or anything." Without thinking about it i imediatly nodded "Of cause you can come with me."

I later learnt from Reiko that Sakura could come with me if she didn't cause any trouble on the way and that she wouldn't tell anyone else about the reanimated corpses to anyone, like what the savior knew about them. The party wasn't that much of a party, it was just get what you want to eat and drink, talk to others and dance to music that seemed to be on a loop.

Later that night, Sakura and i stayed in our own separate rooms on the Rest floor. Savior members could stay here if they wanted or they could return home to rest up. The rooms were kind of small but as soon as you stepped in you would see a large window facing the Castelia city's skyline. Yep, this room was good for its view of the city. Inside the room were small tv in the corner with a mini refrigerator beside it, and a single sized bed near the wall.

Both Latias, Totodile and Oshawott jumped on the bed getting comfortable for the night. Latias levitated so she would be sleeping with her head on the pillow closest to the wall, Totodile slept on the end of the bed on his back and Oshawott slept next to Latias. shutting the door lightly i took off my shoulder bag and my shoes before climbing into the cool bed next to Latias. Looking over to the window without curtains didn't bother me when i entered the room, but now that i am in bed, it kind of did... i wasn't sure why, maybe it was the multiple windows in the buildings opposite this one, thinking that i was being watched... i don't know really.

Relaxing, i shut my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

I woke up at 9-ish... (i think) on my side with Latias still sleeping against the wall beside me. I had an dreamless sleep that night, a first in a while instead of sleeps with dreams actually, but i got a nice sleep in the end.

Getting up from out of bed, I put on my shoes and placed my bag on my lap pulling out some things i had packed in here since I first left home. my water bottle that was empty, slightly scratched as Latias had been the one to use it last. Three of my Pokémon's Pokéballs shrunken down to fit easily in my hand. Looking back at all three of them still sleeping, both willingly agreeing to come with me... I smiled, from a kid who didn't have many friends... now a kid with a few amount of friend... I say a few since 4 isn't really a lot, but it's better than nothing.

Suddenly i was hugged from behind, Latias was there yawning loudly down my ear, then rested her head on my shoulder. Oshawott had been woken up after Latias had shifted to hug me, the same goes for Totodile.

It was 30 minutes since we had woken up, all three of my Pokemon were watching a tv show, it was an anime with that Latias/Superhero thing, a rerun as it were. Remembering the time when Latias first saw this anime was a year after she first came into my life, Latias was looking for something to do for fun, channel surfing through multiple channels for 20 minutes, despite my mom's arguments to find a channel and stay on it didn't get through to Latias. But when that theme song of Super Latias made its way out of the speakers, her face lit up as she saw a show featuring a Latias wearing a red cape with the letter 'L' in white stitched on it. My mom didn't practically like the anime, so she just sat there with a bored look throughout the entire show. I didn't find the anime too enjoyable like Latias did, but after that episode she watched every single episode every day till the last, even dragged me to the store to get the movie...*sighs* memories like those, they always make me smile.

Suddenly i heard a knock at the door, "Yes?" i responded, "Uh Zack? May i come in?" It was Reiko outside, so i let her in. Wearing her uniform from yesterday she gave me some small strange device.

"It's a Savior Device." she said, "A Savior Device?" I questioned her not knowing what this thing did. "It gives you information such as Missions, locations, and shopping information from local stores to find the best deals in potions and supplies for outdoor areas. it also allows us to call you or you for us should you need assistance or guidance, or perhaps a chat once and a while."

Looking at the device that looked like a handheld games console looked expensive, i couldn't imagine how much it would pay to fix it should it break or replace one.

"Thank you." I said before placing the device in my bag realizing she was still standing there facing me, _"She's still here... wonder what else she wants."_

"Sakura is waiting down at the entrance floor for you." I was guessing she awoke earlier than me, with the TV switched off and both Totodile and Latias returning to their Pokeballs i picked Oshawott up and faced Reiko. "Again, thank you Reiko...uh..." She stood their awaiting for me to finish off my sentence _"Better stick with goodbye then. Maybe i could finish with see ya around? There's a thing about liking the relative of a leader... they don't go so well."_ Quickly, i responded with a simple 'Goodbye' as we left the room. as the door shut behind us, Reiko stroked Oshawott on the head and on his cheek softly, "You be good now." with that, she waved as she skipped down the corridor leaving me and a bright red faced Oshawott holding the same spot on his cheek where she stroked him. _"That's twice now he's done that to human women..."_ Shrugging off what had happened, the thought of Reiko entered my mind as i had just got on the elevator with 3 others older than me. Sure Reiko was cute and all, but some part of me made me think if she was just told to come to me and give me that device... smiling on the outside, opposite thoughts on the inside.

Reaching the ground level, an area i had not seen since yesterday, i saw Sakura waiting for me just as Reiko said. The three other workers didn't get off and just waited for me to leave so they can get back to do whatever they were doing. Oshawott however still on my shoulder was smiling goofily again whilst staring at the ceiling.

"Hey." I called out to Sakura while waving as i left the elevator. "Hi Zack, did you get that device from Reiko yet?"

"Yeah." After i had said that, the device beeped gaining our attention. grabbing the device from my bag, the screen displayed the words 'New message obtained' at the top right. pressing the 'X' button to read the message, it read:

To-Zack Raines

Rank-07

From-Clark Stone

Subject-Mission 01

I would like to Congratulate you on becoming a Savior Rank 7, that rank is a great rank to start off.

Should you feel that you may need training, please return to the savior training room anytime day or night.

Your first mission is to travel to Nacrene city Pokemon center to escort a Pokémon to Opelucid city to its trainer.

Further details will be explain upon reaching your destination.

Mission Reward(s):

2000 PD

Elixir x 02

Potion x 05

Note:

Should you require further information regarding the mission or other, please call anyone of your supporters should you need to.

Good luck on the mission.

Clark Stone

*Message end*

"So, Nimbasa city is our location." Sakura said with me realizing she was behind me reading the message over my shoulder. "Sure is." I responded before returning the device back into my bag carefully trying not to accidentally push Oshawott off my shoulder.

With my first mission given, me and Sakura left the Saviors building and onto the streets not long ago stained with blood and bodies of people going about their daily lives, and those monsters created by Annihilation. How they created them into the beings they are now... i did not know. But I was a part of a team, a team to stop Annihilation from killing the innocent and causing terror.

Meanwhile Castelia City - The Saviors HQ/Clark Stone's Office

Clark was watching the computer screen in front of him with his hands crossed. _"Zack Raines..."_ As he watched the screen finally load up, he blinked as the result came, yesterday during the training exam, well before that as he was researching the new recruit Zack Raines, he found something that Zack didn't tell him about, something he had to return too when he showed Zack around the building.

He swivelled his chair around to face the window, _"Why is your last name Amano?"_ He then looked back at the name 'Zack Amano' next to the picture of Zack. _"It could be nothing. a... what are they called? phases? perhaps..."_

On the computer screen a picture of a Pokemon appeared in the center with the words Sighted within Sinnoh at the bottom caught Clark's attention.

To be continued...

Special: Message 01/03 - Arceus Sighted

Message from Clark Stone

Subject: Alpha Sighted

From Olivia Garcia

To Clark Stone

Time 9:12 PM

Date July 24th 2019

Clark Stone

It has been too long my friend, we really must get together again with the others for old time sakes. About that request you spoke to me about last year, there is some good news and bad news; the good news is that we have found it, Arceus, the alpha Pokemon, it didn't attack any soldiers of scientists thankfully. Bad news is that Arceus disappeared shortly after it arrived. As of right now we are still searching for it, and we are still continuing research here at the Hall of Origin.

If you'd like to hear what it said (That's right old man, it spoke) you can listen to the audio file below. One of our members has entered some description of what Arceus and our soldiers do. It's not perfect, but when the video is finished I'll send you it.

Audio File - Arceus

The Alpha Pokemon known as Arceus has appeared at the end of the Hall of Origin. It is looking at all members within the hall. Suddenly a voice, feminine sounding from Arceus... like it is speaking into our minds like telepathy.

"Again, wrong time. Perhaps I should return when the time is right... then again, I would have to hear that Espeon's jokes again... *sighs*" voice of Arceus speaks.

Dr Liam Davies Rank.02 approaches on orders from Rank.02 Captain of operation. Arceus notices the doctors approach.

"Hello Arceus, my name is Liam Davies of the Saviors."

Arceus stares at the doctor for 4 seconds until it speaks to him.

"Liam Davies, a doctor from the Saviors. Born in the year 1982. Your parents Jane and Bill died during a war, my apologies for your loss my child. They miss you."

Liam pauses at this, he appears shaken and backs up a little.

"H-how d-did you..." Liam asks

Arceus continues staring at Liam. Everyone appears unsettled at the silence.

"I watch over them, child." Arceus looks around the area again but doesn't look at Liam again. "I shall return here once more... Past or future..." Arceus disappears with a flashing light.

End of Message.

 **Author's note:**

 **Chapters will be released once every week.**


	6. Chapter 6 The Name's Isaac Anderson

"Your next line is…" Speech

 _"_ _How can i win this?"_ Thought

 **Meanwhile in a random store** Meanwhile's/ locations/ etc.

Chapter 06 The Name's Isaac Anderson

Somewhere in the middle of the desert resort

A boy in his late teens, blonde hair, and pale skin wearing a blue jacket is walking through a sandstorm but struggles to keep moving forward as he is tried, injured and exhausted.

"*Coughs* D…damn sandstorm…I can't… w-where did they go? I can't lose them…I have to save them…*Coughs*!" suddenly he kneels to the ground in fatigue trying so much not to give in... but he collapsed onto the hot sand beneath him.

 **Outside the gates of Castelia City**

We had just left the city and made our way towards Nimbasa, first passing through Route 4, but due to an explosion from the attack the bridge above route 4 made it impossible for us to pass through this way so we had to walk through the desert resort.

Oshawott was walking beside me wanting to stretch out his legs a little, Sakura had let Minccino down so she could walk with Oshawott as they talked amongst themselves.

"Have you been to Nimbasa city before?" i asked Sakura to start a conversation about something other than walk in awkward silence.

"I have once; it was during a fieldtrip when i was in school." Sakura replied looking at me "It'll be nice to see it again. I wonder if that burger place is still there."

"Why did your class go there? Was it the museum?" i asked, but Sakura looked a little sad, "It was..." Sakura paused for a while, "...Art club, y-yeah that was It." she *giggled*

The way she said that 'Art club' it was as if she had made it up. _"I shouldn't pry into things that don't concern me or anyone else's business."_

The path to Nimbasa already had construction workers removing the debris and rubble blocking the road ahead, but the path to Desert resort had a sign posted reading,

'Notice: Please pass through the Desert resort to access Nimbasa city while the path to Nimbasa from route 04 is under construction. Construction will approximately last a week.'

As we approached the entrance towards the Desert resort we could feel the heat building up.

 _"I hate the hot. Fucking Annihilation bastards, blowing up a bridge... why couldn't they just blow themselves up whilst at their base?"_ Thinking about... angry thoughts, i also thought about alternative ways to get to Nimbasa other than a hot desert, but other than route 4 it's going around Unova to reach the damned city.

Entering the desert resort the ground instantly warmed up my feet which i felt through my shoes, Oshawott and Minccino were jumping around in the sand comically, something that made me chuckle lightly. Me and Sakura both picked up our pokemon from the hot sand and made our way through the small canyon like walls surrounding the exit of the desert resort. We passed multiple signs that read out:

'Restock with plenty of water before entering the desert resort'

'Warning: Sandstorms!'

'Half price on apple pie.' Not sure what that had to do with anything here.

After leaving the walls and into the open desert, it was like i had expected, warm wind, a little bit of sand blowing into your eye on occasions, the sun shining down upon the golden desert, I could see a couple of palm trees in the distance together.

"There's some palm trees over there." i pointed towards the trees as Sakura looked in the direction I was pointing to. "Let's go there so we can get some shade and find out where the exit is." Sakura nodded, and so we started walking.

Walking on the hot sand carrying a bag full of equipment and Latias' and Totodile's pokeball, and Oshawott on my shoulder added to the heat causing me to sweat a little.

 _"Okay... next time i am in this kind've place... Oshawott is in the bag."_

"Hey look!" Sakura stopped in her tracks as she pointed towards something to the right or the palm trees. It looked like a blue tent blown over... that's what I thought at first until- *Gasps!* Sakura gasped as she noticed a hand sticking out of the sand. Both of us ran over to investigate the pile only to find a leg, a few fingers from another hand sticking out.

Sakura knelt down first next to the pile to brush the sand off the person underneath the sand. Oshawott and I helped Sakura brush the sand off, the sand brushed off fast as this person or teenage boy was laying their unconscious.

Sakura felt for a pulse and waited for a little while, "He's still alive." Sakura lifted his face from the sand and held his head. "Quick, let's get him out of the sun!"

We managed to get the guy out of the shade by carrying (Dragging) him to the palm trees where we found more shade than we thought. Better yet, there was an oasis in the center of the trees. Near the water was a large tent that we entered, it had 4 beds on all four corners and we placed him on one. Apparently, this tent is set up so travelers can go in and out anytime they please, not sure how it works since anything could happen here, things like fighting or worse.

*Gasps* *Coughs* suddenly the boy had awoken, Sakura quickly walked over to him giving him a cup of water as he drank it slowly.

A little while after he had woken up, he was now more awake and sat up on the bed and looked up at us. "W-where am I?" He asked before coughing again.

"You're at the oasis in the desert resort. We found you passed out in the sand." Sakura told Isaac this as he scratched his head as small grains of sand fell out of his hair. "You were lucky we found you out there. If we didn't...then... are you feeling alright?" She asked refilling his cup.

"Yeah..." the boy drank from the cup again as he attempted to get the sand out of his hair. "Who are you guys?" he asked.

"My name is Sakura Kanai." Sakura was the first to speak as she turned towards me. "This is Zack Raines." The boy looked at both of us as he sat there in silence until he finally spoke, "I see. The names Isaac," he said with a grin. "Isaac Anderson."

We then explained who we were and why we were coming through the desert resort. Both mine and Sakura's pokemon were brought out of their pokeball eating their breakfast of oran berries and some crackers, followed by drinking some apple juice that we got for them yesterday before we entered the saviors building.

"Saviors, huh?" He questioned, "I have heard of them, didn't know they sent members around the world." Isaac then stared at all of our pokemon as they ate their food amongst themselves.

Minccino got up with an oran berry in her paws and walked up to Sakura pointing at the berry she was holding, "Cino, Minccino." Sakura looked down noticing her friend. "What is it Minccino?" she asked picking Minccino up placing her on the bed. "Cino, cino, cino!". Sakura looked at the berry Minccino was carrying, "Is something wrong with it?"

"She said it's rotten inside." all of us including our pokemon stared at Isaac, " _what_ _did he mean by that?"_ I thought, _"'she' said it was rotten? What? Can he understand them?"_

"What do you mean 'she said'?" Sakura asked putting Minccino down beside her. "Well," he began, "I can understand them."

"Understand then?" as confused as I was, I didn't know what he meant by that. Understand her by her movements or the way she was talking to Sakura?

"Like, you can talk with them and they can talk back?" Sakura asked him to which he responded with, "It's the truth. I'll prove it, if you want." Isaac looked around the room and noticed Latias. He got up and walked over to her kneeling beside her. "Alright, what do you want to ask Latias that only you and her know." He asked me. As Latias looked at me tilting her head to the side as she awaited my answer, I thought about the different things I could say, if what Isaac was telling me was true, then maybe i could talk with my pokemon back to back... other than listening and guessing what they say like charades.

"Uh, Latias, during your first Christmas with us, what did you get for me?" As I asked her that, I wondered whether or not she would remember that gift she gave me... _"Maybe I should've said something that happened recently."_

Latias blushed as she looked down, then she faced Isaac and spoke to him using a long version of a repeating 'Lah Lah' and 'Ahh' that lasted for a 20 seconds. After she said all of that, she returned her gaze at me as she levitated over to me and hugged me around my stomach as she nuzzled her head on my chest.

"She said, 'I gave you a card, on that card i drew a beach with a palm tree. Your mother thought it was cute.'" Isaac finished. As I looked at Latias she had the exact same smile as she had when she gave that card to me. "He's telling the truth," i said keeping my head turned to look at Latias as she had appeared to be sleeping again.

"What about Minccino?" Sakura asked as Isaac faced Minccino who in turn faced him. "Remember when i found you in that forest? Why did you want to come with me?" again, like Latias who did her 'lah' thing, Minccino did her... ''cino' and we waited for another 20 seconds before Isaac could respond.

"She said 'We never meet in a forest.'" Sakura's eyes widened as she heard this; "Your mother gave me to you when we were young.'" Minccino placed her paw on Sakura's hand. Sakura had been trying to see if she could catch Isaac out and that the first try with Latias wasn't some fluke, I mean how else would he have gotten it right with the card?

"How can you understand them?" Sakura asked as she held Minccino's paw, Isaac got up and walked over to the bed opposite us and sat down.

"My great-grandmother created potions for a living. One day in a region she never said, she found a rare herb. When she experimented on the herb, she discovered that the herb could allow someone to understand Pokémon speech. she stored 10 vials of herbs in her house wanting to go back for more in the region she found them in, she feared that the effects of the herb would somehow kill her, that the gift to understand Pokémon would be fatal for human consumption, so she hid them in her house until she could gain enough proof that the herbs were safe. Years passed and she raised a family, she gave birth to my grandmother who at a young age ate one of the herbs thinking it was some candy," Isaac paused for a moment before he continued.

"But when her mother found out about what she did... well, she was scared for her daughter's life so she rushed her to the hospital. At the hospital they discovered no poisons or anything that could be seen as a threat to her. The mother relieved that the herbs were safe wanted to release them for the public so that humans could understand Pokémon speech, but no one believed her. She attempted to go to some big major city to prove her ability, but she was in a car crash that killed her. My grandmother for years kept the herbs for herself since she believed the herbs were bad luck. she then had my father but didn't give any to him still believing in this so-called curse. But when i was born and after my parents both died, i lived with my grandmother." Isaac got up and walked around the room.

"She then told me about the herbs and what they could do. She finally revealed them to me believing that they were not cursed. Once I ate the herb, my whole life changed, I could understand Pokemon like any other human. What they say, what they want. I could understand it all." Isaac's expression then changed to a sadder one than he had one before.

"But as soon as I finished high school, thieves broke into our home and lit the place on fire, burning the herbs in the process."

"That's why I am out here, searching for the herbs my great-grandmother found years a- Oh no!" suddenly, Isaac stood up startling us as he shouted.

"What is it?" I asked noticing Latias was still there hugging me.

"I was searching for the Sandiles that were taken by hunters around here." He started to walk out of the tent, but stopped at the entrance.

"I promised one of the Sandiles that i tried to help that i would free them from the hunters and return them to their home... I gotta help them." Isaac lifted the tent entrance up and began to walk out,

"Isaac, wait!" Sakura called out to Isaac gaining his attention, she then turned to me "Zack, you're a Savior member, can you call for help out here?"

"Sure." I reached out and grabbed the device from the inside of my bag and pressed the 'Call' options. The names below where the options i had for this thing:

Clark Stone Mentor

Lee White Pokédex Human version

Claire Taylor Counseling

Billy Moore Medical

Dr Guard Research

Reiko Stone Navigations

 _"Um... so who do I call here? Reiko?"_ Pressing the cursor to select Reiko the device changed screen to a camera like phone showing Reiko sitting on that chair i noticed in the training room.

"Hey Zack, how can i help you?" she asked. "Reiko we need help over here." Reiko's expression changed from a happy one to a more concerned one. "Help? What is it?"

"In the desert resort, there are pokemon hunters here. Can you do anything to help us?"

"Just a sec." she started typing on a computer that wasn't visible to us. "Okay, I just sent a message to some of our soldiers to go and search the desert resort for them. And I just sent a message to Nimbasa police to heavily patrol the exits of the resort." she faced me, "Zack, if you can, try and locate them giving our soldiers a heads start."

"Okay, thanks Reiko." The device shut off. I returned all of my pokemon except for Oshawott. Sakura did the same as we made our way out of the tent.

"Wait, I'm coming too." Isaac said stopping us from leaving the tent. "I can understand pokemon, i want to help the Sandiles too."

"Alright." i said "You can come with us." And so, we left the tent and left the oasis.

We followed Isaac as he brought us to the same place he was attacked by the hunters that had taken the Sandiles. The Sandiles nest was in the middle of the resort but not too near the path people would use to cross this place, so the pokemon here had some peace were it not for hunters and trainers on occasions.

"It happened here... a few hours ago, the Sandile that told me what happened to its family was kidnapped by them. I tried to stop them, but they beat me up and drove off on a truck."

Isaac then looked around the area for something or where the truck could've possibly had taken them. "Wait, the truck went in that direction... I think."

We had walked in the direction Isaac pointed to for about five minutes until we found a sign that the hunters were here. Tire tracks, but almost feint. "C'mon, let's go!" Isaac then smiled as he ran towards the place the pokemon they were sure kept in.

The tire tracks had led into a small path past a cliff near the water almost near Nimbasa city. The location was hidden behind old branches that covered the entire path entrance.

All three of us headed towards the direction of the tire tracks in our attempt to save the Sandiles from the hunters. We hoped we were not too late to save them.

 **Meanwhile in an unknown location**

It was a dark place, no light, just complete darkness in a room full of pokemon that had once been waking up one morning in their home to be trapped in a cage in darkness not knowing their fate. The echo's of laughing from the closed locked door caused the family of Sandile to cover their ears in fear whilst keeping their eyes shut hoping to wake up from the nightmare they believed to be in.

Many Sandile and other variation of pokemon skin placed on the wall, the flesh and blood remain out in the open like something from a horror movie. the smell engulfed the room causing some to become sick. One Sandile amongst the others with a scar on its left eye as it tears up in both fear and sadness.

 _"Where are you Isaac? Don't let us die"_ it's thoughts of what Isaac promised him still lingered in its mind... but it only lingered in its mind by a thread.

To be continued…

Trivia:

Isaac originally was supposed to appear in the next chapter but I decided to give him an early appearance since this chapter was supposed to be some sort of filler story and i wanted to introduce a new character already.


	7. Chapter 7 Promises

Chapter 07 Promises

We had recently found some tire tracks heading in the direction of Nimbasa city while we were searching for the hunters. As we were walking Isaac started to think back to recent events.

 **A few hours ago. Desert Resort.**

Isaac is walking through Route 04 until he notices a lone Sandile covered in blood. Isaac quickly runs over to the sandile kneeling beside it.

"hey are you alright? What happened here?" Isaac asked as he kneeled beside the bleeding Sandile.

"H…h…hun…ugh…" The Sandile groaned obviously in pain.

"Hold on." Isaac said "I'll get a potion."

Isaac opens his bag and takes out a potion. Isaac moves the sandile to locate the wound only to find a large open cut under itsright eye. Isaac sprays the potion on the wound but the sandile tries wriggling its way out of Isaac's grip.

"Easy!" yelled Isaac. "I'm trying to help you!"

The Sandile opened its left eye and looks up at him for a while then closes it after calming down.

A few minutes pass by Sandile opens both of its eyes looking at Isaac slightly it was fear or just the numbness of the potion wearing off Isaac wanted to let the Sandile know that he didn't mean harm.

"It's alright, I'm not here to harm you." Isaac spoke calmly to the Sandile with both of his hands in the air. "Here I got some berries you might like, see they're nice."

Isaac takes one of the berries and eats it, but the berry is too bitter almost causing him to spit it back out. He finally swallows it while trying his best to smile.

"S…S….SEEEEE…?Ugh! _"Damn it… w-wrong b-b-erry ugh!"_ The sandile walks up to Isaac sniffing the berries in his hand and takes one. After slowly eating it the Sandile seemed happy and continued eating some more. 10 minutes later the sandile had finished eating them and looked up at Isaac once more.

"Thank you human for your kindness." Said sandile.

"It was nothing, really it wasn't." Isaac said while scratching the back of his head. "Sandile, when I found you, you were covered in blood, whose blood was it? Obviously that cut below your eye-"

"H…hunters…" the sandile stuttered. "Hunters did this to me. Sandiles are native to this part of Unova. Two days ago a large object appeared in front of our home. The chief approached the three humans wanting to know why they were trespassing on our homes" the sandile stared at the sand "The humans killed 5 others with loud things and grabbed 10 of us in a large bag. I managed to get away but something hut me while I was running. I hid in a cave nearby fearing they would find me, but after two days of hiding I finally left to go look for them, that is until I collapsed of exhaustion."

" _That thing that hit him must've been from a bullet_." Isaac thought as he looked back and forth around the desert for any signs of the attackers. _"Then the blood must be from the other Sandiles… they must be hunters. They must be nearby… I hope."_

"I…I don't know if I'll ever see them again..." the sandile sadly said. Suddenly Isaac pets the sandiles head softly causing the sandile to look up at him.

"Sandile? My name is Isaac, and I promise I will save them." Isaac said confidentially "Don't worry, you'll be reunited with them in no time."

"Aw what a nice speech" a man said behind Isaac. Isaac turned around to see 3 men, one an overweight middle aged man wearing black shorts, brown old boots and a white vest.

The second was a skinny tall guy probably in his twenties, tanned and wearing a blue and white strip vest, blue jeans, sandles and a red bandana.

The third was a large man, strong in appearance. He wore a red jacket with a white shirt underneath, black pants, black boots and had a brown old belt. He had black messy hair and had a stubble.

All three men each had different weapons all aiming at both Isaac and the Sandile.

"Ok kid, how 'bouts you hand over that Sandile and we'll let ya' off?" The man with stubble said with a stern voice. "C'mon kiddo, we'll even pay you oh let's call it 2000, hm?"

"Yo boss?" the overweight man said trying to whisper but Isaac could hear it easily from where he was. "Are ya' really goin' to pay this kid?" The tall man looked at the overweight man beside him and smiled slightly.

"Yeah. You see kid, we three are a part of this organization who go around regions collecting Pokemon for children. Most of these children are sick and or will never get the chance to grow up to become a trainers of their own."

Isaac watched as the man with the stubble walked towards him but stopped 10 steps away from him.

"A young child could use a Pokemon like that." He said whilst crossing his arms. "You wouldn't want a young child to die without one, right?" "Then why do you have guns?" Isaac asked cautiously.

All three men looked at their guns then the overweight and skinny men both looked at their leader.

"Why safety reasons of cause." The man with stubble said to Isaac while showing off his handgun. "I mean c'mon, haven't ya heard about them Pokemon hunters?"

"They are well known around this part of the region." Isaac said now standing up. The sandiles eyes quickly widened as it finally looked at both men.

"I-I-Isaac! I-it's them!" The sandile yelled, but the three men couldn't understand it, they could only hear it say it's own species name, realizing that heir cover could be blown. "They're the ones who attacked us!"

"Are you sure!?" Isaac asked while keeping his eye on both men.

The three men looked at Isaac both with confused looks, then the leader suddenly noticed Isaac was reaching for his pokeball. The leader ran up to Isaac and kneed him in the stomach hard.

Isaac grunted in pain and fell to the sand floor. The sandile tried to defend the boy but one of the men grabbed the sandile and stuffed it inside a brown sack.

"Consider this a warning boy." The leader said to Isaac as he holstered his handgun. "Never fuck with Hunters!" he yelled as he retreated back to his truck with both of his henchmen waiting for him.

Isaac tried with all his might to stand and help the sandile but the pain was too much and found it hard to move. The truck drove away and Isaac was now alone in the hot desert.

" _N-n-no… I… c-can't f-fail them… ugh!"_

 **End flashback.**

"Isaac?" Sakura asked "Isaac are you okay?"

Isaac looked at sakura "Y-yeah…" Nodded Isaac. "Just thinking. Nothing important."

After a while we found a hidden path northwest of the desert. the paths entrance was hidden by old trees and bushes now fallen over. The wind or a wild Pokemon could of knocked it down but now it wasn't the time for that, we had to save the trapped Pokemon before the worse should befall them.

 **Saviors Intel Page 04**

Hunters:

Hunters are well known across the regions ofUnova, Johto and Sinnoh. They are feared in small towns as people believe there Pokemon are at risk of being taken from them. They get Paid a lot of money to gather Pokemon pelts, scales, teeth claws, flesh etc.

If a legendary Pokemon or eggs are found they do not kill them but usually sell them and never harm them.

Sometimes hunters trade legendary pokemon and eggs found over different regions to collectors to trade for better equipment or resources.

Hunters are known to kill the captured Pokemon(s) in inhumane ways such as strangulation, stabbing, drowning, poisoning and torture.

 **Information ends here.**

"Isaac?" Asked Sakura "is that the truck over there?"

A green truck was parked outside an old looking warehouse. There were no cameras, no guard dogs or any signs of life outside or inside. But Isaac looked like he knew that this was the truck that had taken the sandiles recently.

"They must be inside" said Isaac "The sandiles must be inside somewhere."

"What can you tell us about them?" sakura asked Isaac. Isaac turned towards sakura.

"There were three of them. All armed with guns." Isaac paused then looked up "the leader seemed like the more intelligent one of the group, but as for the rest them probably won't be a problem."

"la, laa?" Latias said beside me. I turned to see Latias with an obvious look. Seriously how did she get out of her pokeball without me knowing?

"She is concerned about your safety." Isaac said but keeping his attention turned to the warehouse.

"It'll be alright Latias." I said "we'll be fine." I stroked her long neck trying to reassure her. Latias tried her best to smile but didn't seemed convinced. Isaac turned towards us.

"How should we do this?" questioned Isaac as he crossed his arms.

"Can't we call the police?" sakura said.

"if we did call the police." I said "who knows when they would get here. The hunters could leave as soon as the police arrive."

"How can we save the Pokemon when the hunters have guns?" sakura asked "even if we use our pokemon they could get seriously hurt or worse."

"She's right." Isaac said "we may have to go about this on a different plan, a better one."

All of us in unison looked down and crossed our arms. Oshawott, Minccino and Latias continued to wait for us to come up with a plan.

 _"Distraction? Nah too risky."_ I thought _"maybe we should… *sighs* I don't know."_

"We could try sneaking in." Sakura said.

Isaac thought about it then smiled. "Yeah, that's great." Isaac said happily then kneeled down. "We could try and disable the generators of the building, that way one of the three could investigate the downed generator. When the moment is right we could jump the guy and defeat him."

Isaac then stood up and grabbed one of his three pokeballs and released his Pokemon. The Pokemon was a Growlithe, sitting down in front of Isaac awaiting instructions.

"Wow a Growlithe." Sakura said as she petted it. The Growlithe didn't seem to mind and let her continue.

I felt a slight tap on my leg. Looking down I saw Oshawott wanting to be carried. After picking Oshawott up I let him rest a while in my arms. As for Latias she rested her head on my left shoulder.

"There." Isaac pointed towards a window at the side of the building.

"We could use that to climb in and then locate the generator from there."

"What about the other two?" I asked.

"The two would think the first guy has run into a problem and would probably check it out. If one arrives then we could do the same with him as we did for the first guy and the last one would be the same." Replied Isaac with no hint of worry in his voice but conviction.

"What if both show up? Or all three?" sakura asked looking at both of us.

"Then we use that opportunity to get the Pokemon and escape." Isaac said.

It was like he was making this stuff as he goes along. I don't know why we agreed with his tactics but out of all the options we had, this was the only one that sounded like it would work… *sighs* it's like I am walking to my death.

All three of us including Oshawott, Growlithe, Minccino and Latias walked quietly towards the side of the warehouse. The gate had a small gap, big enough for all of us excluding Latias to fit through, Latias just flew over the gate but used her invisibility thing and reappeared once she was on the over side. Upon closer inspection of the old building I noticed old drum cans on both sides of the warehouse.

The signs on them was replaced with rust and dirt. On the right side of the warehouse was a small skeleton of a Pokemon. I don't know what kind of Pokemon it was but it was.

On the left side of the warehouse was a road, this was probably how they got there truck through here.

We slowly walked to the open window on the left side of the warehouse cautiously. Isaac climbed inside first… no answer.

"Isaac?" I whispered."Isaac, are you okay?"

Isaac appeared at the window.

"It's alright, the coast is clear."

Sakura climbed up first while Minccino stayed on her shoulder. I occasionally looked around the warehouse if one of the hunters should walk outside. The last thing I want is to be seen and the sandiles lives could be at risk.

Meanwhile somewhere inside the warehouse.

"Yo boss" the overweight man said. "Should we feed them yet?"

The man drinking some whisky in a glass sighs. "yeah."

 _"Why did I become a fucking hunter? was it the thrill of the kill or something more?"_ the man thought as he drank more whiskey. _"it's not like I was born for this lifestyle. But at least I still have my trusty rifle."_ The man looked beside him, a rifle with a scope attached with a fire symbol on the side.

" _I remember my first kill."_

" _It was three years back when I joined Team Annihilation."_ The man smiled as he grabbed his rifle with his other hand.

" _I was given a task to assassinate some rich bastard… some old oil tycoon, you know the rich kind who glare at you for having less money than them. The kind who hate you but there smiles hide their true faces."_ The leader placed his glass down and aimed his old rifle at a dart board.

" _I was on top of a ferris wheel when I first saw the fat bastard holding his arm around two attractive girls, a little young for him… she was probably in her teens."_ the leader now aimed at the tall guy grabbing some Pokemon food and placed some on a small cart. He didn't notice the leader as he aimed his rifle at him.

" _I remember the feeling of pulling the trigger. The way the rifle felt as I finally made the shot."_ the tall man noticed and immediately panicked.

"Yo boss?" the tall man didn't move or tried to evade. "E-easy there, boss." The overweight man also noticed trying to calm the leader into not shooting him.

" _When I finally shot the old guy… right in the head, between the eyes. the only thing I knew as to why annihilation wanted me to kill the guy was because he was once an ally of annihilation now turned enemy. I have meet a lot of shady guys in my life, but the old guy didn't seem like an annihilation member nor a threat."_

The leader pulled the trigger but nothing happened. The tall guy wasn't shot.

"Well!?" the leader yelled. "get the pokemon some food before I really shoot you."

"Yes boss" the two men said in unison as they dragged the cart of food out of the room.

 _"But my last kill... now that is a thought..."_ he now smiled as he looked back at his rifle. _"It will have to be against someone who won't see it coming just like first. But unlike first who died instantly, i'll make this one die slowly before they off me... every hunter like myself has a time limit, but mine ain't up just yet."_

 **Warehouse - Empty room**

All of us were now inside of the warehouse. How Latias got inside? That I do not know. The room was cold and empty. The only source of light was the warm sunlight shining through the window.

"We should be careful." Isaac whispered to us as he stood up. "The generator room should be somewhere within this building."

Walking up to the door, I slowly opened it. But suddenly my vision was flashing as I could hear voices.

" **WHY?"**

" **WHAT DID WE DO TO YOU!?"**

" **ZACK."**

" **STAY INSIDE!"**

"W-What?" Confused I let go of the door handle and looked around the room only to find the others staring at me.

"Zack? What's wrong?" Sakura asked. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah." I said trying to avoid discussing that weird flash. Opening the door wider I walked out slowly. _"What was that? *Sighs* I should rest up soon."_

Latias appeared alongside me and rubbed her head gently next to mine. I stroked her head slightly pushing her ears.

Outside of the empty room was a cold hallway. Gray walls with bullet holes and cobwebs. To my left were three tires in the corner full of holes with a dirty rag on top of them. To my right an old dirty bed… nothing else to explain about it other than it smelled bad. In front of both the tires and the old bed was barricades. Walking past them I noticed more barricades down each hallway. In front of me was the entrance to the building, but unlike the other hallways this didn't have any barricades, it was empty, no cobwebs or dust just an oddly clean floor.

Perhaps the people inside trapped the entrance… a bomb maybe or noise alarm, better stay away from there. Together we walked down the hallway as quick and quietly as we could listening out for any signs of Pokemon calling out or the hunters.

My heart was beating fast. Never have I done something like this before, a few days of training… yeah this will turn out well. If I did stay and trained up more then I would've been prepared for this. We opened a few doors to find no signs of life or anything we could use to help us.

The smell within this building smelled old, burnt and like a sewer was open nearby. The longer I stayed here searching for the Pokemon the faster my anxiety rose fearing I or one of my friends would die or be seriously injured. Latias occasionally shook me gently to say "are you alright?" but I would look at her and repeat the same thing every time she asked with "I'm fine."

6 minutes of searching and we found a door with a sign on it reading "GEN?AT?S" obviously the generators. The sign was old with paint feeling off and rust formed at both of the four corners. reached the generator room. Opening the door were stairs leading down, but it wasn't pitch black down there since a small beam of light was present at the end of the steps.

This was the only room we could find that had any lights switched on so we waited and listened out for any talking or movement… nothing. No voices, noises or any movement could be seen or heard down the generator room. Together we slowly walked down the stairs. Sakura shut the door behind us so that if anyone walking down the hallway noticed this door was open then they would realize someone opened it recently and the last thing we want is for the hunters to find us.

We reached the bottom of the steps to come across a large room full of pipes,

Old garbage in front of us and another old mattress near the entrance to another room on the right. There were two entrances, one in front of us and the other next to an old mattress leaning against the wall. From the looks of it, there seemed to be a wet dirty stain behind the mattress, probably this mattress was wet at the time when placed or maybe the walls were leaking.

The humming of the generator came from the entrance near the old mattress I mentioned just now. As we walked to the small room we found the main generators or should I say a small portable one. A few small fuel tanks laid beside it while some empty tanks where in piles at the corner of the small room.

"Okay, here it is. So how do we shut this thing off?" asked Isaac with his left hand in his pocket and his right hand slowly scratching the back of his head.

"Wait. Say we shut the generators off and the hunters arrive. Where should we hide?" questioned sakura with a concerned look.

"The room over there. That should be a good place wait." I said.

"Hmm…" Isaac looked more closely at the portable generator. "here we go. Here's the off switch. So all we have to do is turn this off and quickly make our way to the other room and wait."

Isaac pressed the switch turning the generator off, as well as the lights in this room in complete darkness. Growlithe next to Isaac used ember but the move stayed in its mouth like it was charging up. We quickly ran over to the other room and hid behind a corner waiting for one of the hunters to show up.

"Growlithe." Growlithe looked up at his master with its ember still active.

"Stop using ember." Growlithe fired at the floor and sat near Isaac in the darkness. It was just a dark silence with some small breathing from everyone. My sight didn't change, I watched waiting for the door to open. The longer it stayed shut, the longer my tension rose.

 **Meanwhile Abandoned Building – Office**

All of the lights switched off as well as the fan cooling the overweight and skinny men as they looked at the fan for a while in dismay.

"One you, fix that generator." The leader ordered as he went back to clean his rifle. The skinny man got up facing his boss.

"sir? Why not leave this ol' building and go?" The leader looked up at him with a hint of anger obvious on his face.

"'Cause we have to wait for the call from the other factions telling us they are ready. But i cannot do that if we have NO FUCKING ELECTRICITY!" the leader yelled aiming his rifle at the man.

"O-okay boss, I'll go!" the skinny man quickly said as he ran out of the room.

"Boss? Was that really nes-" the overweight man said before the leader aimed his gun at him.

"If we miss this phone call then the hunters will think something has gone wrong and will come to investigate. These hunters do not like people who waste their time so yes it was necessary." The leader leaned his rifle on his right shoulder and sat back to relax.

The overweight man started to repair the radio. The leader started thinking back a few weeks about when a scientist talked to him about his past connections with Annihilation.

 _"what was that guy talking about? "Second" what did he mean by that? Man that Old guy sure does some insane projects. Still I could always use a plan B."_ As the skinny man was walking through the corridors he noticed that all lights and cameras were off. The generator they use for the building always broke almost every day of the week. It was the same old thing; repair generator, return to the office, feed Pokemon, patrol, repair truck, eat, sleep and repeat.

Grabbing his flashlight from his pocket he switched it on and opened the door.

 **Corner of the room**

"Okay, get ready, someone's coming." I whispered to everyone as the door slowly creaked opened. A tall skinny man walked down the stairs with a flashlight in his left hand and a toolkit in his right hand. The man was mumbling to himself as he walked to the generators.

"Alright." I whispered. "all we have to do is knock this guy out."

Sakura looked at the skinny man walking to the other room then she looked back at us.

"Um… how do we knock him out?" she questioned. "hit the back of his head?"

"Yeah, didn't those savior guys teach you how to do those things?" Isaac asked quietly.

"Well… they didn't teach me those things yet."

Isaac looked down at the ground then looked back. "Alright here's what we should do…"

The skinny man set his toolbox next to the generator, then heard a running getting louder and louder. He quickly turned around to see me, Sakura, Isaac, Oshawott, Latias, Minccino, and Growlithe running towards the man tackling him to the ground.

"HEY! WHAT THE-" that was all the man said before Latias stuffed a stained soggy rag she found into the man's mouth.

The man tried to spit it out but Growlithe used head-butt knocking the guy out instantly falling onto a bucket causing a loud echo.

"Do you recognize him Isaac?" sakura asked as me and Isaac tied him up with some rope we found. Isaac stared at him for a while, he nodded.

"Yeah. There were two others. A fat and a tall guy with a rifle."

We finished tying him up and carried him to the other room away from the generator. Luckily for us he wasn't that heavy, probably the same weight as a bowling ball. We made it to the other room next to the generator only to find another matress… seriously did this warehouse store matresses here?

As I took another step I slipped backwards having missed an oil spill. The skinny mans head fell straight first onto a wall. All of us heard a **SNAP!** Isaac slowly got up after hearing the noise as all of us were in silence.

"D-d-did we j-just… k-ill the guy?" Isaac said in shock.

Oshawott was shaking also and quickly turned away. Latias flew down to comfort Oshawott. Growlithe was staring at the ground, it never moved or made a sound. Sajura and Minccino were covering their mouths with their paws/hands.

I felt his neck for a pulse and waited….. **Beat-Beat.**

"He's alive." I said now relived.

The others sighed behind me and relaxed a little.

"But what was that snapping sound then?" Sakura asked as she looked back at the unconscious man.

I slowly moved his head a little to see multiple teeth on the floor. The front of his teeth were in half and bleeding. The rag Latias placed in his mouth earlier absorbed most of the blood… ugh, his teeth…

"His teeth uh… broke…" I said trying to erase the image of those broken teeth out of my mind. The thought of it made me feel as if I had broken teeth. Things like that often did.

We left the generator room and made our way to the east side of the warehouse since that was the only area we had not yet been to because of the active camera right outside a door at the end of the hallway.

Opening the door we came across a long hallway. Two doors on the left, one further down and the other near us. On the right was only one door. The hallway was full of barricades and small boxes next to each barricade, probably ammunition or some kind of rigged explosives. I opened the first door on the left and listened out for the hunters or the kidnapped Pokemon… nothing. All of us entered the room slowly, but upon closer inspection it was a cafeteria. This room looked like it hadn't been entered for a long time. Nothing was out of the ordinary here so we made our way to the door.

*Footsteps*

"Man! What is he doing? *sighs*" a larger man walked passed the cafeteria and was heading towards the generator room. He had a shotgun in hand so taking him on would be a bad thing. We knew that we had little time and had to hurry up to find the kidnapped pokemon and save them.

After opening the cafeteria door i looked back and forth down the hallway to check if the cost was clear, but before I could say it was safe, Isaac walked passed us. Seriously does this guy not care about his safety? I mean, what if there was another guy with a gun down the hallway, seen Isaac and shot him dead? Yeah that would be bad for us... probably get killed even.

"C'mon hurry, let's try this door before he comes back." whispered Isaac as he slowly opened the door on the opposite side.

We followed Isaac through the door only to hear some kind of noise like something or someone was groaning in pain, only to realize that the noises could be coming from the Pokemon Isaac mentioned earlier, but what was that smell? The smell was disgusting… I-it's really hard to describe. I wish I didn't enter that room.

 _"w-what is that?"_ I thought after smelling something strange within the room. Isaac switched the light switch on to a horrible sight. Sandiles in cages, most of them alive but in cramped cages. Seven of them now dead in a pile… t-their intestines hanging out of their bodies, jaws ripped off, eyes pulled out of their sockets and blood from all sandiles dried up on the dirty floor. 4 more sandile (dead) hung up on metal hooks by their heads. On a table near the sandile heads and claws in a row, eyeless and… skinless.

Seeing this sight I turned away from the dead bodies to the entrance of this nightmare room, but as I turned I was face to face with a man with a rifle. Everyone else noticed the man now standing in the doorway aiming his rifle at everyone one by one.

"So… it was you who sabotaged my generator, huh?" he said with a strange smirk on his face.

Latias hid behind me shaking while Oshawott hanging on to my shoulder bag in fear. Isaac and sakura were beside me starring at the man and his weapon.

"*Laughs* oh man I should've known it was you boy." We both looked at Isaac, but Isaac glared at him.

"You know what you should've done, kid? Let me tell ya', you should've took the damn money and left instead of causing trouble for yourself and your little friends here." he said keeping his eye on Isaac still.

"When the others come back, we are going to make sure y- *gasps* i-i-is that a… Latias?" the man raised an eyebrow as he starred at Latias but he didn't aim it at her. "Alright! New plan! If ya'll want to live then give that Latias to me and-"

"No!" I shouted spreading my arms preventing the man from reaching her as he slowly moved towards us.

He growled at that and aimed his rifle at my stomach.

"I have a fucking gun." He boasted "AF.u.c.k.i.n.g. Gun! Now when I pull the trigger this is going to hurt like hell unless I shoot you in a fatal area you're going to die." He cocked his rifle. "Surrender your legendary Pokemon to meand ya'll walk out of this building ali—ah!." the man was pushed back into the wall causing it to crack in multiple places. The man was knocked out instantly and dropped to the ground.

Latias immediately hugged me after the man hit the floor. It was obvious Latias was the one who threw him back like that.

 _"That was psychic, right? so Latias knows Mist ball and Psychic… nice."_ I thought as Isaac tried to find a way to open the cages on the left side of the room. Sakura walked with her Minccino in her arms as she walked to the right side of the room near some documents, far away from the… dead bodies.

Oshawott's face remained in a shocked state. Actually it was just Oshawott who was shocked after what Latias did just now, oh and speaking of Latias…

I looked over beside me to see Latias doing some kind of dance. Her left and right paw moving up and down and her head was nodding.

"Okay got it!" isaac said as he managed to open one of the cages containing a brusied and bloodied sandile shaking a little. Maybe some of the sandile here have been here longer than the others, just waiting for the nightmare to end. Some of them might've gave up on hope for someone or something would find this place and rescue them, free them back into the wild were they belonged, where they were born.

Hey! Sandile, c'mon! Wake up!" Isaac yelled furiously as he held a Sandile out of its cage while kneeling on the blood stained floor. The sandile in Isaac's arm didn't move, make a sound. Isaac teared up as he held the Sandile in his arms trying to "wake" the sandile up.

"C'mon, please *sniff*." Isaac with one hand hit the floor over and over until Sakura touched his shoulder calming him down.

As I watched Isaac as he lost a friend I heard footsteps from outside of the room. I ran out of the room with Oshawott and Latias behind me to see the overweight man running to another room at the end of the hallway.

"Hey!" I yelled. The man noticed me and turned towards me.

"W-wha? W-who are you?" the man raised his gun slowly but without thinking I ordered both of my Pokemon to use their moves to defeat the man.

"Latias; Mist ball! Oshawott; Water gun!" I commanded as both of my Pokemon used their attacks simultaneously. ("Range attacks. Good.") I thought as the two attacks collided with each other and hit the man in the face.

"Ahhhhh!" he yelled until suddenly the moves exploded as the man collapsed to the ground.

"Oshawott!"

"Laaa!"

The two cheered as they defeated the third and final member of the hunters within the warehouse. Smiling at their little dance that consisted on holding paws and dancing in a circle I got out the device and pressed the button to call Clark so he could tell the Police of our location.

 **2 Hours later outside of warehouse**

The police had arrived and arrested all three men. Apparently they were both wanted men throughout Unova and have been doing this for a long time. The sandiles *sighs* 14 out of 30 sandiles survived. 2 died before the Medics arrived and one more is in critical condition. Isaac was sitting on top of a mound of sand alone. Sakura was talking to an officer near a police car. Laitas, Oshawott, Minccino and Growlithe were drinking some Oran juice given by a member of the saviors. Walking over to Isaac I decided to see if he was alright, that is until I heard a voice to my left.

"Hey kid!" the leader of the hunter said to me as I now walked over to him.

"I gotta admit, no kid has ever stood up against me like you did today." He laughed. "you have balls to stand up to a man with a rifle aiming at your chest."

"Hey kid!" Nathaniel shouted over to me, "See ya' around kid." He said before the police doors shut and the car drove off towards the city along with the rest of the cars.

Walking up to Isaac he noticed me and looked back down again at the sand kicking a small pebble.

"I… I couldn't save the little guy… just like… *sighs* Damn it."

"Isaac" I said "even though we didn't save all of them, we did stop the hunters before they killed every one of them." I then felt as if my words of encouragement didn't seem to help at all.

"They're taken to safety?" He asked.

"The medics are treating them for any injuries they may have."

"They're going to have a rough start once they return to the wild…" Isaac scratched between his eyes once he said that.

"So Isaac, what are you going to do now?" sakura asked walking beside me.

"Beats me…" he said glumly.

"Hey, why don't you come with us?" sakura asked.

"Hm?" Isaac stood up facing us. "y-you sure?"

"O-of cause." I replied slightly feeling unsure about the increase in the group size.

Isaac looked at both sakura first then at me. He then looked up at the sky and inhaled the warm air and exhaled.

"Thanks. I'll go with you guys." He said with a smile. "so. Where are we going then?"

"The Saviors gave me a mission to journey around Unova to find members of Team Annihilation and stop them for good." I said

Isaac laughed at that. Confused I had to ask…

"What's funny?" i asked Isaac who in turn crossed his arms whilst turning his gaze towards the sky.

"Stopping Team Annihilation huh?" he crossed his arms "not saying it can't be done, but I'll still help."

"Gotcha'" I said.

"Nimbasa city is next then." Sakura said with her arms behind her back.

"Nimbasa huh? So we have to get through route 4 to reach it. If we hurry we could arrive by nightfall."

"Okay, let's go shall we?" sakura said while stretching out her arms.

"Oh yeah." Isaac said getting something out of his pockets. "since we are traveling together I would like each of you to meet the rest of my pokemon."

Isaac threw two pokeballs in the air and out came a large Ampharos and a Yamask.

"An Ampharos and Yamask? Wow!" sakura smiled as she saw both Pokemon standing (except Yamask who levitated in the air.) in front of us. Ampharos hugged Isaac affectionately.

"Wha—A-Ampharos don't!" Isaac said before he was electrocuted by Ampharos. 10 seconds of this and Ampharos let go causing Isaac to fall to the ground.

"Ugh…"

"Isaac? Are you alright?" asked sakura as she ran up to him lending him a hand.

"Nah… I'm… good… *shudders*" Isaac turned towards Ampharos with an angry face. "Why must you do that every time?"

Ampharos laid beside Isaac and spoke to him.

"Amph, Ampharos ampha." Isaac listened to his pokemon as it spoke to him. After he had finished, Isaac petted Ampharos' head while doing the same to his head. Yamask behind them had a smile on its face and started to dance around with its pokeball in its paws.

So it was 11 of us so far on a mission to retrieve a Pokemon and return it to their trainer in Black city. Would I have been better off alone? How would I know that any one of them would leave me behind? It's not like it hasn't happened before…

 **Meanwhile Driftveil City Police station**

The leader of the hunters is sitting in an interrogation room alone with his arms folded and his head leaned back so that it was on top of the chair. Facing the ceiling he was pretending that the small dots on the ceiling were bullet holes of all the people and Pokemon he had killed over the years.

" _It was more than this"_ he sighed. _"Zack huh? Kids got guts i'll give him that. It's only a matter of time until my guys get me out of here and hello Raines' mom. A weeks of finding out where the kid lives and one in his head and his mom can keep my guys warm for the night for getting me out of this rattata infested hole."_

*The door opens.*

"Thank fuck, I have been waiting for like-" a scientist entered the room followed by two men in black suits. Not the formal wear but these suits consisted on boots, pants, a black tactical vest, gloves, a mask and a coat with a Yellow X on the front.

"Hello Nathaniel. Remember me?" the scientist asked as he made his way over to the chair at the other end of the table opposite Nathaniel.

"No. but you work for Team Annihilation, that I do know." Nathaniel said as he watched both Team Annihilation soldiers as they stood behind him making him uneasy. _"so these Driftviel city police bastards left me in a room with a nerd and two "scary" soldiers with handguns? I can take these bastards on, rob a nearby bike and escape."_

"I come here on behalf of the boss. He-" The scientist said before he was interrupted by Nathaniel.

"T-the boss? What does he want with me? I quit that job, remember?" awaiting the scientists response, Nathaniel then remembered something. _"oh fuck! Is this some kind of kill your former employee mission? Nathaniel! Grab the gun on your right, shoot the guy on the left. Break right's neck and punch a hole in the nerds face… maybe shoot him… yeah I'll shoot him and esc-"_

"He wants you to become Number 02." The scientist said with a smile.

Nathaniel was shocked, he gasped as his mouth opened wider.

" _Wha? N-n-number 02? Holy shit_!"

"As you may know the process will change your appearance."

"W-wait… *coughs* w-why me? Out of all of the retarded fucks you have at T.A. (Team Annihilation) you chose me? What is this...?" Nathaniel questioned as he clenched both of his hands and placed them on the table.

"He doesn't just choose people because they are his friends, he chooses them because they are the most skilled at what they do. For you for example; you are an expert sniper, hunter and survivalist."

Nathaniel looked down at the table, he had to consider this as this was a once in a lifetime but life threatening process to think about.

"there is no way to go back right?" Nathaniel asked.

"No." replied the scientist.

Nathaniel stared at the stained table considering this, looking back up at the scientist, he finally said "Number 02 huh?" he chuckled "I'll have training right?"

"Yes. Intense, but effective training." He smiled "so, what do you say?"

Nathaniel smiled again and stood up offering his hand to shake the scientists hand.

"I'm in. just say the word and I will be ready." Nathaniel said.

The scientist stood up and shook his hand and smiled. They let go of each others hands and stood for a while.

"so, who are these two? Your security?" he laughed.

"no. transportation." The scientist said. Nathaniel confused as to what he meant.

"t-transpor-" But he never finished his last sentence.

*WHACK!*

Nathaniel was knocked out as one of the guards hit their handgun at the back of Nathaniel's head. They placed Nathaniel in a body bag and brought in a decoy that looked exactly like Nathaniel.

"Remember our agreement; don't fuck this up and we won't kill your family. Understand" the scientist said to the decoy but he nodded instead of talking to him.

The scientist walks over the Nathaniel's body as he was given oxygen to breathe whilst in the bag.

"Welcome to the Doom project Nathaniel. Second of eight have been chosen. Now where shall I look for the other six?" asked the scientist to himself as he walked out of the interrogation room followed by the guards carrying Nathaniel's unconscious body to a large black truck. Placing his body on a bed the truck closed its door as it drove off into the darkness.

To be continued…

Trivia:

In the original version of the story the hunter's location was in the tower of the desert region. Isaac joined the team at chapter 5 instead of 7.


	8. Chapter 8 Wonder

Chapter 08 Wonder 

As we began walking through (i think it's the small area between the desert resort and Nimbasa, I'm not sure what it's called.) all three of us were talking about a video game about some kind of monster game were you had a kid explore the underground making friends or killing whoever you met. I never played the game myself, i just read about it a few times and watched a video of it at one point to see if it was something i would like to try and play.

"-And that's why Papyrus is my favorite font." Isaac chuckled at that. he then started to quote a character on occasions.

We were walking through a path leading to Nimbasa city, which was only a 5 minute walk if you kept at a steady pace or didn't wander off into the forest sounding us. Walks like this reminded me of the forest right at the edge of my home town. There was a large hill that was so big you could see the entire town and the ocean.

"Osha?" Oshawott said as he leaned on my shoulder as if he saw something ahead of us. Looking in his direction I saw nothing but an empty long path. looking back at him again he continued to stare in the direction i looked at with his mouth open in awe.

 _"What is Oshawott doing? Hm?"_ Looking back i realized what Oshawott was starring at. a Buneary walked out of the forest sniffing around until it noticed us walking closer to it. Oshawott on the other hand noticed that this Pokémon was a female Buneary. 

The Buneary froze in place as it stared at us getting a few feet closer to it, and the sight of Oshawott staring at her like that didn't make things better. the Pokémon suddenly ran back towards the forest and out of sight.

"Oshawott!?" He shouted, jumping off my shoulder as he ran after her.

"Oshawott! Hey!" I yelled before running after Oshawott now realizing that he was a fast runner for a little guy. Both Sakura and Isaac followed behind as we passed the tree's and most likely a few pokemon hidden within the tree's and the ground beneath us. With Oshawott still ahead of me still chasing the Buneary i called out to him trying to stop. "Oshawott... *huff* would you... *huff* stop already... *coughs*"

Finally we came to a small open area of the forest with a large leafless tree in the center. Oshawott stood at a large hole on front of the tree as if he was trying to find a way to get inside. Isaac and Sakura finally caught up and were trying to catch their breath.

"Oshawott." I said to him annoyed a little as i slowly walked to him a little tired from all that running. Oshawott jumped around to face me, "Wott?"

"You shouldn't be running off like-" But i didn't finish that sentence. As i had walked on the ground that looked solid, it really wasn't, from were i was and to the hole Oshawott was standing near, the ground suddenly collapsed as all of us fell. Sakura gripped on a root that hung out of the ground but it gave way after it felt her weight snapping like a pencil. The only thing i remember from that fall was the screaming and the light from the surface slowly becoming a small dot, until... complete darkness.

 **A few moments later...**

I awoke to find myself lying on the cold hard ground, at first i assumed it was a large rock that i was on, but that's when i noticed as i opened my eyes.

"W-what the...?" Confused, I looked around this strange room, a room of white and polka dots on the floor. the ceiling of the room was blue with small white patches that looked like clouds.

 _"Didn't i fall from that hole just now?"_ I didn't know how i got there or where i was. After rubbing my sore head, i stood up and looked around the room. the only thing i could find in here was a door at the far end. walking to the door was no problem, but the strangest thing was the room didn't even echo or i could hear my own footsteps. I shrugged this off feeling as if it was my head not functioning properly because of the fall.

 _"Long drop... wonder how i survived? must've hit something soft on the way down, maybe."_ Reaching my hand out towards the handle I heard something behind me.

 **"OH..."** It echoed throughout the long room, like it was where I was just now. Looking back in surprise... I found nothing, nothing but a lightly dim end of the room where I just was. It was a man's voice, deep sounding. _"What was... hmm."_ turning the handle again the door opened. it wasn't until I was halfway out of the room until I looked back to see a white large figure standing at the end of the room.

 **"OH!"** It shouted as it ran towards me. Its appearance was that of a stick man but made of string with a circle on the top to make a head. It's running was that of someone waving it's arms and legs as they ran, it's head then turned into a smile like shape as it yelled once more, **"OOOOOHHHHH!"** As it yelled again, i immediately stepped out of that room and shut the door behind me and backed up away from the door frozen with fear. Never had I have seen a creature like that before, it certainly wasn't human or Pokémon.

Breathing heavily, and stuck there starring at the door in front of me, I waited.

But nothing came. After gaining enough courage to get up I approached the door and leaned towards it trying to listen, but all I could hear was breathing. I then looked at the another door to the right of me and entered it, it wasn't until I was about to open it until I heard the door I had previously left out of was opening. With that, I quickly opened the door and shut it behind me.

"It's all your fault." A female sounding voice was behind me, I didn't recognize it.

"No it wasn't, I was just curious, that's all." a male voice. my thoughts were on that stick man thing or whatever it was on the other side of this door, I didn't want it to approach me again. i just stayed there trying to prevent that thing from entering this room.

"Oh! there he is. Hey Zack." The male voice knew me... but I didn't recognize who this person was. Looking over my shoulder I was now in a brighter larger room than before with a white and black checker tiled floor. the walls were maroon with a few paintings hanging on both sides of the room. a small door roughly the size of 30 centimeters was on the other side of the room. As for the voices, well... the only beings in the same room as me were Oshawott and Latias.

Confused as to who were the voices were, i looked around the room forgetting to lean on the door.

"If you never had to go-" when the females voice started again, I looked in the direction where it was coming from, only to see Latias' mouth open as if she were speaking perfect English. "-and chase that Buneary, all of us would've been at Nimbasa by now." She then crossed her paws as she glared down at Oshawott.

Oshawott nervously laughed, "Hey, well ya know... at least t-that Buneary isn't the only thing that's cute around here..." Oshawott nervously said as his face got brighter, all I did was just stand there hearing all of this. "Y-you're cute, Latias, cuter than any other female I've met... *nervous laugh*" Latias stopped glaring at him and smiled whilst blushing a little. "Thank you Oshawott. You're cute too -Pretty cute." Oshawott smiled as he heard this from her and faced me.

"What's wrong Zack?" Oshawott spoke, that was weird for me, Oshawott and Latias were speaking... I didn't know what to say. "I...uh...?" was all I could say, I mean, what would you do if a species that you have known all your life couldn't speak only today you can understand it's 'Hi' to 'Goodbye'.

Latias approached me closer, "Zack? are you okay?"

 _"What the...? what do I? respond to them? Ah, what the hell!"_

"Uh... I can, understand you?" Latias and Oshawott seemed confused at that as they both looked at one another, then back at me still with confusion on their face.

"I'm sorry," Latias said after a while of no one saying anything. "Did you say that you can understand us?"

"Y-yeah..." Her face then lit up, along with Oshawott as Latias levitated towards me, grabbing both of my hands with both of her paws and levitating in circles whilst giggling and cheering.

"Hurray! My best friend in the world finally understands us. No more charades and guessing games," She stopped circling and rested her head on my shoulder, "Life is good." she sighed.

"Zack, do you know where the others are?" Oshawott said carrying his scalchop off his stomach. "No, I haven't seen them, I just woke up recently in..." remembering that strange room with that... string thing, and that it could enter the room at any moment. turning around which proved a little difficult with Latias using a little amount of her levitate ability, I looked back at the door, shocked as I only saw nothing but a wall.

 _"What? W-where did the door...? what the hell?"_ I thought about explanations to the missing door, that I... entered the door behind me and rushed in getting confused for the wall as the door... if that made any sense. This was a trick room, or I dreamt that whole thing and woke up to see both of my Pokémon arguing... I didn't know.

"Zack," Latias said as I looked at her, "C'mon, let's go and find the others. They must be worried about us." She let go of me as she levitated towards the door and turned the handle opening the door. Believing that the stick thing was behind the door I called out to her but as soon as the door opened she looked back at me, "What is it Zack?" The other side of the door was different from the one I was in recently, it was... a beach from where I was.

"Oh, uh... nothing." This place alone was strange, a long room with a weird string man screaming, Latias and Oshawott... yeah I can understand them now, and this beach-like place... this was weird.

In the sky were multiple large clocks all ticking but backwards. Each clock were of different color and had texts in the center of each one. I could make out some of them from where i was:

Infinite

Times up

Till the End of Time

Final Hour

Out of Time

Just clock related things really.

The beach had red sand, I mean blood red sand that looked like it was moving, but I felt no wind around me. The palm trees were in the shape of a human hand with the arm and fingers being the wooden part and the tips of them had palm leaves. The sky beneath the clocks was a dark orange, the kind you would see at a sun setting.

"What is this place?" I looked over my shoulder to see Latias levitating there as she watched the sky.

"I... don't know." I said to her. Looking back towards the sky I then noticed the clocks numbers weren't numbers at all, they were shapes that looked like the numbers they replaced.

"Hey look!" Oshawott called out standing beside me, "It's the weird one."

The 'Weird one' Oshawott was referring to was Isaac sitting on the beach watching the ocean. Isaac mentioned right after we left the desert resort that both Latias, Totodile and Oshawott referred to Isaac as the weird one.

As we walked over to him, I checked behind me to see if that door was still shut, but as I looked back still walking with them, I noticed the door and the building was not there anymore, it was as if where we had came from was all in our heads or...something.

"You saw it too, huh?" Isaac was eating an ice cream as he continued watching the ocean in front of him.

"The clocks in the sky? The buildings that vanish? the strange things within them?" I was guessing he saw the same monster as me then. Looking over to one of the palm trees near another building that i just noticed over at the other end of the beach was Sakura trying to pick coconuts off from a tree.

"Isaac, c'mon we have to get out of here." Isaac sighed and stood up from the sand.

"Zack?" Latias asked as i now looked at her. "D-do you um... r-remember when we first m-meet- I mean met?"

"Yeah. Why do you ask?" Latias only shook her head lightly and smiled, "It's nothing." Latias held my hand with her claw-like finger things as we made our way to Sakura.

"Yo! Sakura!" Isaac called out to her as she was carrying a coconut in her hands.

"Hey! Zack, where have you been?" She asked which made me think about didn't everyone here end up at the building, seeing that strange creature?

"I was in that building that disappeared a while ago." everyone's faces had changed to a more confused one.

"Building?" Latias asked holding my hand with both of her paws. "There wasn't a building."

"We never left this one Zack." Oshawott pointed over to where we were. No building still...

 _"This was weird"_ I thought _"Both Oshawott and Latias both left the building together."_ I was expecting them to remember the building, even Isaac mentioned it when all three of us left. _"Okay... nice joke(!)"_

Oshawott lightly pulled on my leg, "You were resting beside the trees, remember?"

"What about you Isaac? You mentioned the building and that, that strange creature inside it?" Isaac looked at me like i told a bad joke, everyone did. We, I mean, they walked towards the building in front of us trying to forget the whole thing, but for me... for me that building seemed somehow familiar, like at one point in my life i had walked inside it once. the paintings... the tiled floor... and that creature? what did it all mean?

We entered the door to go inside the building, but what was on the other side was strange, it was as if there was a forest inside. Looking up above the building, the clock sky remained, but on the inside was a dark starry night sky.

The door shut behind us as all of us were inside the dark forest, but none of them seemed to be aware of the door that had vanished, like there was never a door there in the first place.

 _"What's wrong with them? Why are they acting like this isn't strange?"_ This was on my mind, i wondered why they said that there were no building that we came out of. And also Isaac mentioned the building and the weird creature, but now he forgot about it when I asked about the building?

The forest dark, it would've been impossible to see if there were no moonlight shinning down. The device I had that lit up a little when activated wasn't helpful, it actually lit up one or two steps in front of me. Looking up at the stars like the previous area... the beach for a floating clock in the sky or the weird trees... nothing was weird about them, even the moon wasn't strange.

Noticing the tree's and the whole surrounding almost looked like the same forest at Nuvema town. The leaves on the branches of the trees above were slowly moving with the wind that we didn't even feel, it was as if we were separate from it.

"Hey Zack?" Looking at Oshawott who I noticed on my shoulder, I didn't even realize he was there. "You live in Nuvema town, right?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "Why do you ask?"

"Just wandering. So do you live with anyone else besides Latias?"

"My mom and my sister."

Oshawott scratched his forehead. "Will your sister get a starter from Juniper when she's old enough? Is she going to become a trainer?"

 _"Thinking about it, Yuri did mention when she was at age, she and her friends are going to travel with each other... or was she going to go to an academy?"_ Looking at Oshawott again i answered, "Yuri will get one, but she doesn't know which one she will get."

"How old is your sister?" He asked smiling. "She's 8, her birthday was last month."

"Is having a sibling 'Fun'?" He asked.

"It's alright. Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

Oshawott shook his head to my question, "I'm an only child, my parents never-" Oshawott looked down at the ground, I wasn't sure if I actually saw Oshawott tear up or if it was the moonlight, "Oshawott?"

Oshawott sniffed a little, "It's nothing..." I believed at that moment that something bad had happened to his parents, I thought maybe whenever Oshawott was ready I could help somehow...

"What the hell!?" Looking straight ahead as Isaac yelled out as he noticed two things blocking the way. There were two large poliwhirls the size of an adult human looking at us. Staring at them for a while, the two poliwhirls looked at one another and then back at us waving at us.

"Greetings friends of new." The voice sounded like it had come from one of the two, it sounded like a male adult human, someone behind them i thought?

"You are new to this world, correct?" a different voice spoke out but a little high pitched from the last voice. All of us looked at each other as the Poliwhirls awaited our answer still.

"W-who are you?" I asked, but surprisingly the poliwhirls jumped up and down a few times and span very fast in the same spot.

"Behold!" the lower pitched voice said as the poliwhirls continued spinning in place. "What you are about to witness is astonishing."

"Better than the appearance than Regigigas battling it out with Arceus."

"Witness the DEBUT appearance of..." the both said in unison as a drum role played.

they stopped spinning and posed as a large amount of confetti exploded from the ground and into the air along with small fireworks that exploded.

"The Polibro's" They both said in unison as the 'Tada' sound effect played from an unknown source followed by an applause.

This was a weird sight to see, especially in this strange place. After the two pokemon did that introduction they stood facing us again.

"You seek escape from this place?" The higher pitched voice asked turning to his brother... or maybe he meant as a friend or something?

"You'd best hurry at an average pace." the lower pitched voice brother rhymed.

"Oh great!" Isaac said scratching the back of his head. "They rhyme..."

The two pokemon didn't look happy to his response, but they eased up.

The poliwhirl on the left looked towards the opposite, "These beings must go to see the queen beyond the hedge maze."

"Stare into her beauty for her glorious gaze"

"So, we have to find this queen to do what then?" I asked the two as they did some strange dance, they did that for 20 seconds until they responded again.

"To leave this place of cause." they laughed

"That's the correct answer. FOLKS" He shouted, "give him a round of an applause!"

Another sound effect of cheering and clapping played out of nowhere. All of us looked around for the source of the noise that sounded as if the volume was getting louder... but then it stopped.

Confused at the whole scenario and went back to look at the poliwhirls again... but they were gone.

"Where did they go?" Sakura questioned, but none of us knew either.

"This queen they mentioned, maybe she can help us?" Isaac lightly scratched his cheek as he looked at us.

"The 'Hedge maze', that's what they said where we could find her." Sakura said as she were holding Minccino within her arms.

We began to wonder through the forest to search for this hedge maze and the queen. The poliwhirls had said the queen could help us leave this place... but there wasn't any royalty in Unova. This made us wonder where we were, or was this someone's idea of a game?

The forest still as dark and eerily quite as we walked past tree by tree. Looking past the tree's off the road, i could've sworn I saw something... some movement like there were people, or maybe pokemon there... it was as if they were watching us.

Latias clung onto my shirt from under my arm, she whimpered as she too noticed the shadows in the forest move. Suddenly we noticed lights in the distance. Red, blue, yellow lights like Christmas tree lights, all of them flashing on and off.

"Lights..." I said pointing in the direction of the lights, everyone else had noticed them too. "Maybe there is someone else we can ask about this place."

We didn't try to follow the lights since the road we took lead us closer to the lights. More and more lights came into our view as we began to hear feint music and singing, maybe three singing some shanty song... maybe more.

"-And so we don't have a job, only drinking tea-" their singing was clearer now as we approached the entrance of the area with the lights. it was a brightly lit up place surrounded by a massive hedge wall, pink carpets and a massive table full of cakes, savoury foods and tea. Each chair around the table were all different shapes and sizes and colors. sitting on the furthest chairs away from the entrance were three pokemon, a lopunny, a meowth and a pichu all wearing hats and with a cup in their paws

"Guests have arrived, so much fun, can't you all See." They ended their song as all three pokemon looked at us, the meowth cleared its throat and said, "Well look at this, GUESTS!"

"Tis been a while since our last."The Loppuny said as it ate a cake from the plate on the table.

"Well c'mon in, enjoy some refreshments." The Pichu poured some tea into some cups nearest to them. All of us walked further in and sat down at the table.

The last time I had tea was about last year, my mom made this herb tea that restores a small amount of HP and cures poison. Latias had eaten something she shouldn't and got sick for three days. Mom said people could drink the herb tea but it wouldn't be as effective.

Sakura sipped some of her tea first and smiled at her trying not to cringe, "U-um... very n-nice."

"W-uh? ew..." Isaac grabbed some sugar cubes from the small dish in front of him and put 5 cubes in his cup, he stirred it and drank again... but his expression was similar to Sakura's.

I drank mine thinking both Sakura and Isaac didn't like tea so, eh I may as well give it a shot... and i hated it.

the taste of this stuff was terrible, it was very bitter/sour 50% of both of them, there were floating small bits of...tea leaves? i don't know, but they were like eating small balls of salt, all of it left a horrible aftertaste in my mouth.

The meowth leaned next to Isaac, "If you thought that was good try the cake."

"Oh no," he said shaking his hands in front of him, "I'm not hungry."

The meowth grabbed a slice and attempted to put it in his mouth.

"Oh c'mon, 'tis a good cake." The meowth managed to get some of the cake into Isaac's mouth, Isaac like when he tasted the tea try to spit it out.

"SO!" the Pichu shouted, "What brings your kind to our domain?"

"We're looking for the queen. Two large poliwhirls told us to find her to leave this place." I asked them, but it was like talking to children, they seemed to be interested in throwing small pieces of food and spoons at the hedge wall and on a few occasions at each other.

I asked them again but they continued throwing food and spoons at each other.

"Let's go, looks like we are not going to get anything out of this." I said to the others as we both got up. I looked at all three of them still throwing things at one another and some pieces of cake at Isaac's head.

We walked to the end of the table expecting them to notice us, but as I looked back, they were still playing... _"We'll just leave them like that and be on our way."_.

But something strange happened when we reached the exit, we turned back and sat down in different chairs than before for some reason even i can't remember why.

"Well c'mon in, enjoy some refreshments." The Pichu said as it poured some tea into our cups. All of us remembered the taste of it and refused.

"Not thirsty?" The meowth said as it leaned to the side of Isaac, "If you are not thirsty then try the cake." The meowth like earlier attempted to put the same cake into his mouth, but unlike before, Isaac pushed the meowth off of him onto the table.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" Isaac had shouted startling all three of them. "I told you before, i am not hungry." As soon as Isaac said that, the three pokemon pointed and laughed at him as if he had something on his face. He turned to us and said, "What's with these pokemon?"

"It's red." the Meowth laughed hysterically, "it's red *Laughs*"

We got up again and wanted to leave again... but the same feeling happened when we got to the exit... we didn't feel like leaving.

"Underneath you-*Laughs* Underneath your skin is red flesh *laughs* just like the others that entered here." The meowth held it's stomach as it rolled around on the table laughing continuously.

"W-what the-" Sakura looked back at the exit and realized all of us were walking towards the chairs again, but all of us stopped once we realized it. "Weren't we leaving this place? Why did we come back? *Gasps*" Sakura with her eyes widened as she stared at the three pokemon again.

"They were so filling, it was like eating a delicious cake." The Loppuny laughed as its grin widened across its face.

The three pokemon were still laughing, but what we didn't realize until after they started to laugh was their fur and skin slowly melting off of them like water on skin, the liquid, maroon in color merged together with each other forming into something much bigger.

The voices of the pokemon were distorted as they spoke in unison, "Having fun is a favorite hobby of mine," the merged liquid grew into a large thing, bigger than Oshawott, larger than Latias and to the size of Isaac as it grabbed him with human like hands, it's entire body were flesh like both in color and... appearance, it was as if it's skin was torn off as it's veins pulsed throughout its entire body. the things face forming into a large grin like mouth and circular eyes.

"Hello Isaac Anderson!" it shrieked loudly as it smiled at Isaac. Isaac's face became pale as he stirred in disbelief at the thing in front of him, "Where is your girlfriend? *laughs*" It laughed loudly at him as Isaac teared up as he clenched his fists. Latias hid behind me breathing heavily touching her chest with both of her paws.

Isaac managed to break free from the monsters grip as the monster itself backed up covering its face. "Did ya miss me, friends? Was it good?" It said laughing and breathing in between breaths.

"Did ya hear me you fucking idiot!?" It roared so loudly that even some leaves from the branches above us started to fall. "Why can't i leave this place!? When I have my fill, I will gut you!" The monster threw the table to the side and faced us.

"Ampharos, go!" Isaac shouted as he threw his pokeball up in the air as Ampharos emerged in front of him. "Ampharos, electrocute this son of a bitch!"

Ampharos used an electric type move... thunderbolt I think? anyway, it sent a fast beam of electricity towards the monster. The monster fell backwards as the electricity began to were off. It got back up again, "C'mon, I need help here." Isaac asked startling us a little. Sakura quickly walked towards Isaac's left side and let Minccino down to stand next to Ampharos. I walked over to the right side of Isaac and sent out Latias.

"Pathetic!" it spat, "Weak beings sending out weaker beings. it is like throwing tiny small pebbles at a wall made out of solid-"

"Laaahh!" Latias had used Mist ball at the monster interrupting it's speech. Isaac returned to normal after starring silently at Latias' recent attack and faced Ampharos.

"Thunder Wave, let's try and paralyze this thing."

"Pharo" Ampharos crouched down and stood up again stretching its arms as a yellow beam of energy travelled towards the monster making contact with it. The monster gasped as it felt the wave and shivered whilst gritting its teeth.

"N-no... I shouldn't have... m-m-monologue! I shouldn't have done that!"

"Minccino, use hyper voice" Sakura commanded as Minccino jumped in closer to the monster and shouted so loudly that the monster had trouble covering it's ears. The monster managed to cover one of its ears, but the other one was bleeding.

"Ampharos, use thunderbolt." Isaac gave the command as Ampharos quickly raised its arms and aimed at the monster as a beam of electricity hit it successfully.

As the monster fell, like the corpses that attacked Castelia city its body, skin, bone all melted away into nothing. But not before it spoke, "Why? Why must i be punished for everything you told me to do?" It's jaw half off but it's speech was still understandable, "N-No...!" It now stared at us angrily, "I WILL NOT DIE!" It shouted as it attempted to attack us, but something happened...

Without warning, a strange large light ball from the sky fell onto the monster instantly setting it ablaze. After the fire settled down the monster had vanished leaving only a burnt patch on the grass, but that's when everything else changed. there was no massive table there anymore, no chairs or any decorations anywhere only skeletons both human and pokemon remained. these bones were probably those that remained here for too long and met their demise.

"Skeletons?" Sakura questioned, "T-this place was an illusion?"

The monsters remains and the burnt patch disappeared like the table and decorations leaving only bones and a strange mist that covered the almost the ground. Looking at the ground combined with the mist and skeletons made it look as if they would come alive and grab me or something. Then again, with those walking corpses Annihilation created walking around made that whole thing believable.

As we exited the ruins, that feeling from before were we couldn't leave the party was gone. The skeletons made me think about them, those that died from the monster that... ate them? (ugh!) I wondered if they realized that the whole party was an illusion, how would the monster kill them and by what? a quick death? poisoned food/drink? I would never know.

Several minutes passed by of us walking through this dark and cold forest, the taste of that bitter tea I never drank was gone from my mouth. The drink and the taste may had been an illusion, but the taste lingered as if I had a real drink.

The entire scene changed from a dark sky and forest to a bright blue sky and the sound of pokemon calling out to each other, the fast change fazed me leaving me standing there looking back in confusion to see a long path out of the forest. Everyone else appeared as if nothing happened, but did i say anything that time or even mention it to them or to Oshawott and Latias looking at me with confusion? I didn't, I'm not sure why I didn't say anything, maybe i assumed it was going to be like the last time when the scene changed when me, Latias and Oshawott left that building to the beach or... i don't really know.

In front of us was a massive hedge maze, looking both left and right and all i could see was the huge hedge wall. Sakura noticed a sign near the entrance that read; 'Queens castle ahead, please follow the path.' The path past the entrance of the maze was either north, west or east. Whatever path the sign mentioned wasn't very clear.

"Who designed this place?" Isaac sighed after reading the sign, "If this is the only way to reach the castle... wouldn't that be bad for, uh... what's the word? exchanges with different nations or something? eh, c'mon." Isaac walked in first inside the maze looking in all of the directions, but his reaction became different to what it was before, his eyes wide as he froze in place, eyes circling in every direction. Both of us entered the maze also to find out why Isaac was acting like this.

The maze on the outside was a healthy green with the bright warm sun shining down on the grass, but after our first step inside, the scene had changed to a darkened mist-like maze, hedges burnt and grass now soil covered in ash. the wind made us cover our noses, the smell was a mixture between something burning and something rotten nearby.

"W-what's going on?" Sakura said, "Wasn't this place normal a second ago?"

"D-did you hear that guys?" Isaac asked, "A voice... man, woman... I can't tell..."

Standing on that spot we all stayed as quite as we could to hear what Isaac heard before we entered it.

Silence...

Nothing but silence...

 **"Hello..."** I heard a small voice to the side of me, I moved to the side quickly to get away from the source of the voice but all I could see was nothing but the burnt hedges.

 _"W-what the?"_ I then realized that not only there was nothing there beside me, but the entrance of the maze had been covered up by the hedges. "The entrance is gone?" Again I was surrounded by silence. looking back I saw nothing but burnt hedges and thick fog.

I was scared. I backed up to far against the hedge that I could feel the branches dig into my skin. In the cloudy sky i noticed a large mountain with a larger top that looked like a person looking down at you... it was a weird sight I thought until I heard a voice again.

 **"You see it too?"** a males voice, late 30s to 40s asked me or someone nearby, " **The thing in the sky, the giant amongst us? it's watching you... be careful.** "Looking up at the mountain and imagining it to be some kind of giant made my skin crawl. The area became even foggier than it already was, there was a low groaning noise that replaced the winds howl. I wanted to call out to the others, but that mountain that looked like a giant person made me feel uneasy, as if the slightest of noise would make it move closer towards me.

I randomly chose a path through the maze and began walking in a stealth like walk. I had no weapons or anything to defend myself with if anything strange appeared like... i stopped, i remembered that creature from the first room that i saw... i didn't want to see that thing again or other variations of them.

 _"I just had to become a savior... why couldn't i be a...um? something that doesn't involve things like this."_ Thinking helped with my progression through the maze a little. things like happier times with my family and Latias, even a little music got me past the corner.

 **"Don't move!"** A different voice shouted that it echoed throughout the maze, i stopped looking behind and in front of me every couple of seconds. It laughed, followed by whispers from men, women and children, some i could make out, others i couldn't.

 **"Why?"** A n echo made from what sounded like a child in distress was heard from behind the hedges.

 **"R..."** A man's voice was heard sounding like it was just in front of me **"Ra..."**

 **"Raines."** A woman's voice this time, it was soft, i didn't recognise the voice or who it was that was calling my last name. I tried to look around for the source of the noise, but all i got was silence again.

Sounds of swords clashing against one another were heard on the other side of the hedges, followed by countless screams and shouting. Confused to this new sound I just stood there hearing the battle. Explosions were heard, pretty loud ones but they weren't too close to me.

 _"What's going on out there? A battle?"_ I then noticed in the distance opposite the entrance of the hedge maze was a large castle engulfed in flames, there was a banner hanging on a pole at the top of the tallest tower... It was red with a blue sun in the center. Then, like a blink of an eye, the scene yet changed once more to that of what the hedge maze looked like from the outside, green hedges and grass.

"Zack?" A voice called out to me, it was Latias levitating right next to me, along with everyone else.

"W-what happened just now?" I asked but everyone appeared like before, as if the building never existed, the beach, the party, or the forest never happened. "That just now, the maze was foggier and the sound of voices and-"

"Are you feeling alright Zack? We haven't rested once since the hunters were arrested." Oshawott asked me leaving me speechless, it was if they had no recollection as to what had transpired.

 _"Maybe I am- w-wait! of cause I'm not losing it, I know what I saw and that was real... or maybe this is some kind of dream?"_ I just patted both Oshawott and Latias on their heads and told them I was okay, but on the inside I wasn't.

The castle was still in sight, same stone and same banner. But the castle was not on fire. As we walked further into the maze the castle became closer and closer, some paths lead to a dead end while others gave us a chest full of either potions, money or rare item like a nugget or rare candy.

Okay, so now i had 6540 in cash, 2000 found thanks to two of those chests, (makes you wonder who would put money inside chests and leave them in the open.) A super potion, and a Quick Claw which i thought was pretty cool.

The maze came to an end as we had found the entrance to the castle, it was a large bridge that lead to the castle. The large river beneath the bridge looked deep and stretched far into the distance, no bridge or any other way someone could get across this river. On the bridge were no people, Pokémon, not even guards around.

 _"Is this place abandoned?"_ I then thought back to what those Poliwhirls said earlier, ' These beings must go to see the queen beyond the hedge maze.' _"Talking Pokémon, monsters trying to eat us, a haunted maze... wonder what this queen even looks like."_

The castle got huger and huger as we approached it, but there seemed to be anyone around still. The large fountain in front of us had water coming out of it, inside the fountain were small pebbles and a few small coins, the coins however were not something i recognized.

As we approached the castles giant doors, i remember staring right up at the large doors looking up so high that i even hurt my neck, never in my life have i seen a door this big.

The doors were already open by the time we touched it as it pushed open, it wasn't heavy to move it was light, it slid open so easily like pushing a feather.

On the inside in front of us was a large red carpet that lead towards a large stone staircase with the handrail made out of what appeared to be... gold? the marbled floors and tiled white walls appeared brand new and very well clean. The walls had no painting or decoration anywhere except for a few banners that hung from poles, they were the same ones from the outside of the castle.

"Where is everyone?" Sakura asked, "For a huge castle like this you'd expect to at least see someone by now." As we stood there in silence the only thing we could hear was the wind outside.

"M-maybe t-they're-" I stopped in my sentence realizing i was stuttering. I was never that big on conversations around new people. But then i swallowed and spoke out once more trying to calm myself, "I mean, what if they're further inside?"

"Like an aud-i-ant (Audience) chamber, right?" Oshawott said smiling, everyone else nodded, and so we began to walk up the stairs. The door in front of us had a sign next to it that read, 'Audience chamber' painted in black on a newspaper stuck to the wall.

"Huh, that was easy to find." Isaac scratched his neck and knocked on the door and entered... kind a. Before we even made one step inside, something behind us pushed us in and slammed the doors shut.

In front of us was a large single throne at the end of the hall. on the throne was a woman drinking from her chalice, so we walked up to the throne down the red carpeted hall towards the queen.

"Stay." She ordered before we got close to the small stairs leading to the throne. Her appearance was that of a woman in her 30s to 40s. She had long black hair that reached down to her mid back and blue eyes. she had a slim body and appeared taller than me. the queen was wearing a blue dress with a red robe behind her with a gold circle thing keeping her robe on with the same emblem on the banners around the castle. "Who are you? And why have you come here?"

"My name is Zack Raines, I'm a savior member. This is Sakura and Isaac, we need to leave this place, w-we were told you could help us?" She stared at us for awhile until she got up and smiled walking towards us. She approached me but picked up Oshawott.

With Oshawott in her arms, she lightly scratched his stomach just above his scalcop.

"My, what a delightfully happy Oshawott he is." She smiled at him lifting him closer to her face.

"Thank you," he smiled, "Beautiful." he added grinning whilst blushing.

"You're so cute i could just eat you all up... or am i kidding around?" Oshawott's expression died down a little, he nervously laughed looking back at me. "Your Oshawott is cute, look after it well." she said before giving me back Oshawott.

"I have never heard of a, what did you call it? a 'Savior'?" I nodded in response as she smiled. "Unfortunately I do not have the key to help you leave."

"Key?" Sakura asked, "This key will allow all of you to leave this place. Anyone who wishes to leave this place must bring the key back here and use it on the castle entrance from the inside."

"Um... what kind of key is this?" Isaac asked scratching his forehead. "A special one. All will be revealed until you bring it back here."

"Well alright then, where can we find the key?" I asked the queen as she returned to her throne.

"Somewhere past the maze and into the forest, there is a large mansion. inside the mansion the key should be there." the queen coughed a little, "I know this because of my informants told me so themselves, but why they never brought it back to me, even my warriors are afraid to go there. So 'Savior' should you desire freedom from this place you will go there and retrieve the key for me."

"Thank you, we won't be long." I said before returning to the exit with the others, "Ensure that you do." She smiled.

As we left the castle Isaac looked back, "How come there were no guards, no servants or anyone inside?" He then turned away from the castle and continued to walk with us "Just doesn't feel right this place..." He muttered under his breath.

 _"Finally noticed it too huh? about this weird place? Alright that it's it."_ stopping i asked, "Oshawott, Latias," Latias stopped and both her and Oshawott stared at me. Isaac and Sakura stopped too. "Do you remember the building i found you two in? You were arguing about the bunneary oshawott chased."

"I did? Are you alri-"

"C'mon, don't tell me you forgot about that!" I interrupted Oshawott as he became startled, i never did like yelling at others.

"Zack, we left the hunters hideout, got lost in the forest and now we are here looking for the queen's key." Sakura said.

"Alright but what about that tea party with that weird monster that ate whoever arrived and wouldn't let them leave? We managed to survive because of our pokemon."

"Tea party? Isaac, was there a tea party nearby?" She asked Isaac who in turn shook his head.

"This forest is messin' with you Zack. The quicker we get out of here the faster..." He stopped, "Hey why did we stop all of a sudden?"

"Did someone say something?" Latias asked looking at each of us for an answer.

"Hey what's wrong with all of you?" I asked confused at the sudden change.

"What do you mean?" Oshawott said as if he didn't know.

"What about the tea party? i just asked everyone about that, do any of you remember it?" Again like before, they all just stood there as if i were playing a prank on them or something.

 _"If this were a joke then it's not funny. How can they forget something like that?"_

"Are you alright Zack? Do you want to sit down?" Latias approached me, "No, i don't want to sit down." I didn't understand it, how could they forget. Perhaps this place really was a dream, i thought, but a realist one at that.

We began walking towards the maze, but, like a blink of an eye we transported to the forest this time, again no one noticed anything. The forest was alot brighter than before, _"Maybe it's almost morning here..."_ As i thought to myself i carefully watched everyone as we walked through the forest, not one of them seemed concerned about the change of scenery or anything really, dream or not, why did this seem so real? like a story from a storybook, the strange creature in that disappearing building, the tea party, the maze, and everyone's memories erased except for me.

 _"Perhaps i am going mad"_ I thought. _"Why did this happen? Why is everything weird here?"_

 **"Because it is nothing but a memory".** I heard a man's voice suddenly from all directions. As i stopped and looked around for the person / creature that spoke out as if it were everywhere, i couldn't see anyone other than the others walking as if nothing had happened, before i could say anything, "Hey look!" Isaac had stopped and looked at a large house in the middle of the forest.

The walls of the house were covered in vines that stretched up to as high as the roof. The windows had a strange black spiral pattern in the glass.

"Hey!" Isaac shouted after turning to us, "Look, there's someone inside."

As he pointed to the window to where this someone was, all i could see were nothing but darkness behind the window.

"C'mon." he shouted as he and Sakura ran towards the front door of the house leaving me standing there looking up again at the window... still nothing. I then thought that the one who said 'Because it is nothing but a memory' might be inside, then it struck me, what did that voice mean? I don't remember anything like this, especially on TV or video games.

Isaac and Sakura had entered the house, i followed as i shut the door behind me with Sakura and Isaac standing in front of the stairs, "Hello!" Isaac shouted, "Is anyone here?" Nothing but Isaac's echo were heard in the house. Looking around there were cobwebs at almost every corner of the entrance... there was a smell, like this place was mouldy and rotting, but beside the cobwebs the tiled floors and wooden walls looked clean.

"I know i saw someone in here... maybe they're shy?" Isaac said to himself but surprisingly he was met with a loud high pitch cackle that echoed throughout the room. "Whaa!" Oshawott jumped as he clung on to my shoulder digging his small claws into me.

"What was that?" Latias asked as she turned in all directions, "Someone in here with us?"

"Let's look around, the key must be somewhere here." Said Sakura looking back to us.

We walked up the stairs, the large window in front of us was the only thing lighting up the room, i wondered where the light was coming from if the sun wasn't even out or the moon which disappeared before we entered the house. We reached the top of the stairs, unlike the bottom it appeared clean, but at the top it was covered in dust, more cobwebs but over the ceiling, some with small leaves caught in some... and a sock (wonder how that got up there.)

Two doors on the left of the hallway and one door on the opposite side. ahead was an oval window with the curtains closed. the carpet beneath us looked as if it were burnt... and some weird slime was mixed in.

"I don't even want to know what that stuff is." Said Oshawott on my shoulder as he cringed at the sight of the floor.

The first door on the left was empty, no window, nothing. We entered to get a better look inside, the only thing we could find were inscriptions etched on the walls, each one were different shapes words and symbols that i recognized from video games;

An egg-like necklace thing with a mouth, nose and eyes closed, all in different locations... _"I'm sure i have seen this before..."_

'Raviel, lord of phantasms' _"Wait a second! Have i seen this somewhere?"_

A capitalized letter M with a moustache on it _"King of the something..."_

'It will all end at 05' _"What does this mean?"_

'The key is in one of three rooms.' _"The key is in one of three rooms... *sighs*"_

Suddenly the room became dark, i couldnt see anything, I noticed that Oshawott was gone from my shoulder.

"Uh, guys?" i called out into the darkness... but i recieved nothing, no echo, no noise. My breathing increased along with the beating of my heart. After gaining courage, i reached out into the darkness to know if i wasn't alone in here. The room wasn't that large so i would surely reach the wall or door by now...

2 steps... nothing.

4 steps more... still nothing.

10 steps... nothing.

I didn't know what to do, i just stood there trying to grab my savior device from my bag. After rummaging around inside, i stopped,"What?!" My bag was empty. 

At that moment i turned in all directions hoping that soon the scene would change again with more light.

*scratch...*

I heard something scratch on the floor, it wasn't too close to me, but hearing it made me feel uneasy. _"Is there something in this room with me? Latias? Oshawott? anyone?"_ I was scared that i couldn't open my mouth... i didn't know what to do.

*Scratch..!*

The scratching became louder, as if it were right beside me, I stood there frozen as i closed my eyes, my teeth gritted shut, the palm of my hand clenched down.

A cold air hit my face, it was rhythmic, slow like breathing, but i couldn't hear it.

 _"What the hell is this thing?"_

 **"Found you."** A voice beside said, male or female i couldn't tell, it was like it was speaking inside my head... but without a voice, that didn't even make sense...

Suddenly the scene changed again, everyone was in the room with me as the light from the hall appeared like switching on a light switch.

"'One of the keys are in one of three rooms'... " Sakura sighed as she read the etching on the wall, "Guess the key isn't here."

 _"They didn't notice anything too, huh?"_ As i followed them into the room next door i watched them, they did not do anything strange like a random creepy smile or eye rotates, nothing like that. _"What is this, a horror movie?"_ I laughed to myself at the thought. Sakura opened the door.

This room was different from the last one, this room had three beds, two on the left side and one on the right. The walls were made of wood and so were the floor beneath our feet.

"Wow, nice room." Isaac said walking up to the bed on the right inspecting it closely. "Doesn't look like there is a key under this one."

Sakura and myself walked up to the other beds on the left side of the room. The beds didn't have sheets over them, only pillows. We both picked up the pillows, but there was nothing under any of them.

"The key must be in the other room." I said before realising the Oshawott jumped off my shoulder and lied down on the bed.

"Wow... so comfy" He said as soon as Latias joined him curling up beside him.

"What are you talking about?" Isaac said about to sit down on the bed, "A bed can't be that comf- *Sighs* WHOA! I have been on expensive beds before but this one takes the cake...damn."

"It's eat the cake, not take the cake." Oshawott looking up at Isaac as he rested his head on the pillow.

Latias opened her eyes and looked at Oshawott, "I thought it was beat the cake."

Oshawott yawned, "Who cares what it is... c-cake is good."

Sakura sat down on the bed and lied down giggling a little, "Wow, you were right, this is a great bed."

"Hey, c'mon we should look for the-" I was then dragged on the bed by Latias as she cuddled up with me, "Zack, let's rest for a while." She yawned, "We have been walking around all day..."

"You don't... walk..." Said Oshawott as he moved his arm up and down a little. "I levitate..." she replied finally closing her eyes.

Lying down i looked at the ceiling, it was painted white, a few stains here and there, nothing worth mentioning. _"Seriously, are they really sleeping here? I should just get up and start looking for this damn key."_

I managed to get up from Latias' grip as i stood up. Looking at everyone lying there on the bed, it was as if they didn't care about anything that was going on. sighing, i left the room to go to the room opposite this one.

*Crash*

One of the floor boards came loose as i fell down. *Laugh* Like before, i heard that laughter again, but it sounded like it was coming from downstairs. i got up as fast as i could and ran towards the top of the stairs to find out who was laughing before, but as i approached the stairs looking down at the ground floor i saw nothing but an empty room.

I had now searched the room opposite the one the others were sleeping in. this room was a library, it had the usual things you would find in a library things like bookshelves on each side of the small room filled with different books, and a few sofas to sit and read in.

If you were expecting the key would be in one of the books or on one of the bookshelves, in another part of the house or something like that, the key was in fact lying there on the table. It was a golden large 10 inch key with a diamond engraved on it for the handle. It didn't weigh anything much, so i just placed it in my bag for now.

 _"Okay, got to get the others, wake them up and get to the queen."_ With that i left the library and made entered the bedroom, Latias was already awake.

"Zack, where were you?" She asked, "When you woke up you where gone and i thought something had happened, are you alright."

"Sure, I found the key the queen asked us to get." Latias smiled and looked at the sleeping Oshawott cuddled up beside her.

"He was talking in his sleep when you weren't here... something about his parents. He must miss them." As she said that i wondered what did happen to her parents and why she crashed into the fence right outside my house, so i guess now was a good chance to ask.

"Um, Latias, do you remember anything before you found my house?" Latias just shook her head.

"I don't remember anything much. Why do you ask?"

"I was wondering if you ever wanted to know about your parents."

Latias thought about that and rested her head on the pillow, "Where would you begin? Why did they abandon me? i was found by you covered in cuts and bruises..." Latias teared up at that, "Maybe they d-din't... want me..."

 _"Me and my big mouth, what should i do?"_ I walked over to her kneeling down beside the bed and stroked Latias behind her ear and apologized to her.

 _"Maybe i could try and find out what happened to her parents, after all i am with the saviors and Lee is a Pokémon guy so he could help, maybe. Would she be alright with this?"_

Even if i did that, reunite Latias with her parents, would Latias even know who they were or would just look at them like any other wild pokemon out there to her?

"Let's wake the others up, we have the key so let's not linger here any longer." I said as i stood up but Latias grabbed my hand with her paws, "W-would you really search for them? I-I m-mean my parents, could you find them?"

"Well, i could try, ahem... y-yeah, i could search for them." Latias closed her eyes for a moment then smiled, "Thank you." Her head tilted as she smiled at me.

What i said, that i would search for her parents for her, i meant it. Back then i didn't know what that smile meant, but now i know what it meant.

After waking everyone up and explaining to the others that the key was found, we never found the person Isaac saw before we entered the house or who the laughing man/woman or pokemon was so we left for the queens castle to finally leave this bizarre place.

"So the five return to my domain? interesting." The queen smiled as she stared at us.

"Who is she talking too?" whispered Oshawott as he yawned still drossy from the sleep earlier.

"We have your key, can we leave-" i was interrupted by the queen as she held up her hand to silence me. "SILENCE!" She shouted.

"You do not have to hide it anymore, i know who you five are... Spies."

"Spies?" Sakura said confused at what the queen said to us. "We're not spies."

The queen glared as she rose from her throne pulling out a dagger from her robes. "We shall see about that. You there boy," She pointed the dagger at me, "Give me that Oshawott and let me kill it, then i'll let you all walk free from here."

 _"What the? what the hell is wrong with this woman?"_ The queen began walking down the steps towards me, i turned to the side so Oshawott was just behind my head out of sight from the queen.

"Give me the Oshawott, boy."

"No..." i said silently backing away slowly. "No." My voice became louder but clear for everyone to hear. The queen eyes wide open stopped in her tracks as Isaac and Sakura walked to my side and said something that surprised me, "You heard him, he will not give you Oshawott." Sakura said first as Minccino stepped down in an offensive position ready to attack if commanded.

Isaac stepped forward, "What kind of queen wants to kill a pokemon?" Isaac got his pokeball ready, i'm not sure if it was either Yamask, growlithe or ampharos.

During my childhood years within Nuvema town i never had anyone help me with moments like this, Latias was the only one to do this kind of thing, but two people who i just met within the same week to help me was... different.

"You filthy lowlifes, you dare to talk to a queen like that!?" She raised her voice so loud that her voice to echoed throughout the entire chamber.

"You're not a nice queen trying to kill someone who didn't do anything to you or anyone." Latias poked her head from behind me as she said that which surprised me, but the queen got even angrier.

"Silence you-" But before she finished, the sounds of cannons and explosions could be heard outside of the castle, even some of the glass from the windows smashed as rocks as big as a Geodude came crashing through the roof as if it were raining outside. Multiple screams from the inside and outside of the castle were heard as the sky changed from a sky blue to an orange as clouds of smoke blocked out the sun.

"W-what's happening out there?" Questioned Isaac, "Annihilation?"

The queen threw the dagger at the ground in a fit of rage as she then laughed holding her head with both of her hands.

"They're here, i can't believe they are coming to kill me!" She then stood up and yelled towards the broken windows, "COME AND GET ME YOU BASTARDS! DID YA HEAR THAT HOENN KINGDOM!? TRY AND KILL ME!"

The scene changed as i was once again alone in a dark place void of light, i could still see myself as if there were some kind of special spotlight illuminating me. Every direction i turned i would see the same dark nothingness, floating there without any idea which way was up or down.

 **"That was a memory."** The same voice i heard was in front of me this time, it was a man... only that his face didn't have any flesh or skin on it, it was all bone, he was wearing a tattered black old robe with a brown belt around his waist.

"W-what do you... mean?" I responded unsure what this thing was, a corpse i thought created by Annihilation or something else entirely.

" **What you saw here was in fact a memory from 617 years, 21 days, 8 hours and 14 minutes ago. They were my memories of the kingdom of Kanto as it fell into ruination.** "a voice was heard from it, but it didn't move it's mouth, it only moved its head slightly and it hands.

"W-what are you?" I asked getting more and more nervous the longer i stared at this bone man thing.

 **"I was once the doctor of the queen. I watched the events from the the time the queen became the new ruler of Kanto, her first son, and her first war. This was a time i feared for not my own life, but my family's life,"** He began to walk around within the darkness, **"I thought i could ask the queen to let me help my family leave to the boats, but the queen saw this as if i were abandoning her, as if i were a traitor. The queen then tried to have me executed, but since i was the only doctor within the kingdom at the time i wasn't allowed to leave in fear that the enemy you know today as Hoenn declared war with Kanto after the queen's son killed Hoenn kingdom's son."** The skeleton stopped and starred at me.

 **"As time passed within my time inside the castle, i had learnt that my family were brutally murdered by soldiers. The queen then told me to leave if i wanted, she then said 'It's not as if you have anything to go back to, you are like a young pokemon, you will always come back to me' I then realized that the soldiers who killed my family were the queen's. It was what she called it punishment for trying to leave the castle. A cruel fate for a man imprisoned."**

With each word, i listened to his story trying to piece together what this whole thing was about and why i was brought here.

 **"Without warning, the castle was under attack. Hoenn attacked the castle, the queen's soldiers vanquished one after the other until finally it was just me and the queen left alive alone in the safe room. Armed with a dagger, i struck the queen in her heart for my family... but i stabbed her arm instead. I could've killed her... but my family would always be corpses no matter what i did. Hoenn soldiers then burst into the safe room, but i gave the soldiers the queen. Did they kill me you might ask? No, they let me go..."** He paused for a bit looking at the dark sky, then back at me he turned,

 **"I tried multiple times to kill myself, but on one fateful day on the ruins of a battlefield, i heard the crying of a young girl about the age of 2 over the corpses of her parents and siblings. I do not know why i did what i did, but i felt sadness for the young girl and brought her with me. i wanted to take her to an orphanage where she could be safe and then i could end what i believed to be a meaningless life further ahead, but the girl wanted to come with me. Years of what i believed to be a lonely life then became something i thought was forever gone along with my life, the girl at the age of 5 called me father. My children at the time were too young to speak, but as soon as she said 'father' to me i felt as if i had been revived into the same man i was before my family died, a man with hope. Over the years she became a doctor and even started to have family of her own. During my final years of elderly i died with a girl who i found on the ruins of a battlefield, taking her in and raising her as if she were my daughter. I died not of sadness or loneliness, but of happiness that i didn't die alone."** The skeleton looked at me, **"Why did i tell you this you might ask, Death is a harsh and cruel thing, It happens to all of us, Zack Raines"**

Shocked that he knew my name i floated there speechless. _"He knows my name? B-but how?"_ from where he stood on the invisible ground he spoke,

 **"I bare a message from someone, since your enemy Annihilation brought me back to life as a thing you call a weapon, 'She' gave me a message to pass on to you so that one day you will know what awaits you."** he paused, **"This is the message;"**

 **"Zack Raines, sometime in the future your life will change as soon as you become an adult, this change will benefit your task that i will give to you when we meet in the other world. Watch as your friends, family and allies made in your life die one by one by a force not even you can stop. Your friend turned foe will attempt to kill you no matter what you say. Cruel this message may be, but it is your fate. We will have our first 'Test' in sinnoh, Zack Raines."**

"T-that was... uh," That message was weird, i then thought on who this 'She' was,

 **"My role has been complete, ever since i was brought back from the dead i was given a mission to give you a message. now that my role has been completed i will once again join my loved ones in the after world."** He looked at the sky again raising his arms, **"Thank you Zack, if you hadn't come here, i would've been trapped here..."** the dark void then became brighter, **"And so, after so long i return to you... my family."**

The skeleton then suddenly vanished and so did the dark void as all i could hear were my name being called out, i opened my eyes seeing that Oshawott was looking at me lying down on the grass with everyone else around me.

"W-where are we?" I said wincing in pain as i noticed my head was aching.

"We woke up here in the forest, not sure how long we have been here though." Isaac said as he rubbed his forehead.

"Laa..." Latias was licking her paw whilst rubbing the side of her neck with the other paw.

"How did we get out here? We chased Oshawott and... i-it's all just a blur after that." Sakura got up from the grass and looked at the sky. "The suns about to set."

I then asked about the castle and the forest with the two large Pokemon, but they didn't seem to remember anything. I thought about explaining about the bone man or doctor bones whatever, but a floating skeleton in a dark void talking sounds made up. I never found out who that skeleton was or why he let me live, whoever this 'she' person was, to give me a message to something so dangerous to many people, why couldn't she give me the message herself?

With the path found leading towards Nimbasa city we walked, the cities lights could be seen from where we were. Oshawott slept on my bag holding on to the straps so he wouldn't fall off and Latias had returned to her pokeball, I remembered that i would help Latias look for her parents, and i will.

To be continued... 

Trivia:

This chapter is almost based on the exact same chapter in the original story version of Pokemon Dreams that i wrote up long before i wrote this story up. In the original version, the last part of the story didn't contain the talking corpse at the end foretelling future events. Also the original story was much lighter in terms of content like swearing and violence.

 **Note:**

 **Next week's chapter may be slow due to some problems with my computer. Take iot easy ya'll.**


	9. Chapter 9 Broken

**This chapter didn't turn out like i had hoped, but it was good enough for now. Will edit this chapter later as with other chapters sometime in the future. Enjoy the chapter.**

Chapter 09 - Broken

We had just arrived in Nimbasa city just as the sun was about to set, this city was well known around Unova for how bright it became at night so this is a sight to see. Nimbasa city was the place to go if you wanted to go with friends, family just to go here for the theme park or the massive stadiums here, not gyms for trainers to get a badge at but actual sport stadiums and a theatre were Pokemon dance at.

*Bzzzzz* The device i got from the saviors began to vibrate. Quickly i grabbed the device and opened it up.

The screen flickered for a moment and Reiko's face became clear, beside the screen was something like a thing for the subtitles and volume control.

"Hello, Zack? Can you hear me clearly?" Reiko from the looks of it was sitting in the training room. "I can hear you." i replied stopping right there on the streets as the lamps began to light up.

"I was tracking your movements a few hours ago, why were you in route 4 for so long? are you alright?"

"We're alright. Oshawott chased a bunneary into the forest, after that it's kind of a blur." I lied at that last part, i mean, how can you explain something like a talking skeleton, a castle at the end of a hedge maze and talking pokemon.

"Be more careful next time. I'm sorry to say this, but your mission will have to be postponed until tomorrow."

"Thanks." I said as Reiko smiled, "Talk to you soon." The device shut off with the words on screen reading 'Call ended'.

"Hey dude!" Shouted a young boy standing with a pokeball in his hand. The boy was wearing a black jacket with a red shirt, black pants and sneakers, his hair were brown and spikey. "I notice you have an Oshowott (He didn't say Oshawott correctly.) Le's Battle!"

"Uh..." I almost forgot about this, young trainers wandering Unova battling any trainer they could find. I was about to tell him that i couldn't because i didn't want to, that was the real reason but i would've just told him that my pokemon are injured/sick and need to be treated as quick as possible but Oshawott jumped off my shoulder and got in an offensive position.

"Oshawott." He said with his paw close to his scalchop. the trainer ran a few steps back and threw his pokeball up in the air and out came a Doduo dancing in place as it hopped on both of its feet.

"The names Derick, i am a trainer attempting to win the Unova league and become the new champion," He grinned, "I take it yo' after the same goal 'eh?"

"No, My name is Zack and I am member of the Saviors." He only scratched his head at my response, i assumed he didn't understand what I was talking about.

"Well whatever you are, le's battle!" Derik pointed at Oshawott and commanded, "Quick attack on this bitch!"

 _"What the...? is this kid for real?"_ I don't know why but i found it amusing in a bad joke kind of way. "Oshawott, eva-" But beofre i could finish, Osahwott was hit with Doduo's Quick attack a second after it was commanded by Derik. Oshawott fell on his back but quickly jumped up, shook his head a little and got ready.

"Oshawott Razor-" Then i stopped and thought about the move against the target, _"Doduo is a flying type so... razor shell is a water type move, better stick to tackle, but then again, razor shell can lower defence. that will be useful for later in battle."_ I turned to Oshawott and commanded, "Use Razor shell!"

Oshawott grabbed his scalchop with both paws and a bright blue sword-like beam emerged from the scalchop, Oshawott ran towards the doduo but Derik gave the command that would change the outcome of the battle and Oshawott.

"Damn! Doduo, quickly use Fury attack!" Doduo ran towards the charging Oshawott and intercepted with his Razor shell. Oshawott attempted to block the multiple attacks but was struggling nonetheless.

"Osha, Osha." Oshawott almost let go of the scalchop but as soon as the Doduo attacked at Oshawott it hit the scalchop instead very forcefully with its beak. The attack ended on the fourth hit as doduo quickly ran back to its trainer awaiting its new command.

Oshawott got up and yelled, "OSHAWOTT!" I tried to see from where i was to find out what Oshawott yelled for but his back was turned to me.

"Quick attack once more Doduo!" Derik commanded as Doduo ran very fast at Oshawott but he attempted to block it again with his scalchop. Suddenly as Doduo attacked Oshawott, Oshawott's scalchop broke into multiple peice upon impact. Oshawott fell backwards with the shards of the scalchop falling to the floor, i ran over to him and helped him up. Oshawott rubbed his head bleeding a little, either from the fury attack or that last quick attack i wasn't sure, so i grabbed a potion from my bag trying to unlock the cap of it. Oshawott looked back in shock as he noticed his scalchop now in pieces. Sadly he kneeled down picking up two pieces attempting to put them back together but then gave up. He then looked at his stomach where the scalchop resides when not in battle. he gently rubbed it then covered it with both of his paws shivering.

"Oshawott," i said but i didn't know what to do or say to comfort him. I then picked up the shards of the scalchop and put them into my bag. Oshawott had seen this but walked to my side and reached into the bag. At first i thought he was going to remove the scalchops or something, but instead he grabbed his pokeball and returned inside of it, something he hadn't done ever since i got him from Juniper.

"Sorry dude." Derik said as i began to stand up. "Was that a normal trainer battle?"

"It was unexpected..." I said to Derick not looking at him as i was concerned for Oshawott returning to his pokeball like that. "I have to get going."

"How 'bout a rematch some time, eh Zack?" Looking at him i nodded, "Sure." With that he walked towards route 4 leaving me standing in the streets alone.

It wasn't until a few minutes later that i rejoined the others at the center as we booked a room for the night. I then explained the battle and how Oshawott's scalchop broke and returning himself to his pokeball.

Oshawott was sitting behind one of the three beds as he was thinking about the battle, breaking his scalchop affected him more than I thought.

 **Oshawott's POV asked with permission**

 _"Mom... dad..." I shut my_ eyes as I thought about his past with my parents. It was a rather small place to live with tall concrete buildings towering above us. I remember at a few nights during my early youth that i used to fear those tall buildings thinking they were giants trying to eat me or something like that. That is when my parents showed me that there was no reason for me to be afraid of them. They also taught me that every single living being either young or old, small or tall, scary or cute, everything is afraid of something.

Why did i return to my pokeball like that? it wasn't just a scalchop, a weapon that i can easily remove from my stomach, it was a reminder, someone who doesn't want to be capable of killing anyone, either good or evil.

I can remember when i was a young Oshawott, smaller than the average Oshawott. My parents held on to my scalchop so i didn't use it in case i accidentally hurt myself or others. I was alright with this and didn't mind it at all, I believe the reason for this was because when i was in my infancy i threw my scalchop at another pokemon wanting to stay up longer.

On the day i reached childhood i got my scalchop back as long as i trained how to use it right. I didn't really mind the training... (I did) so memories of those training sessions passed by, not because they were fun, they were boring, boring like watching a slowpoke do anything, not that they can do anything interesting (I hate slowpokes there i said it.)

The day finally came when i was to use Razor shell for the first time in my life, both my mom and dad were very happy about this as i did my best on multiple tries but failed each one of them. That night, the pokemon that lived nearby heard rumors of weird monsters lurking near the city and attacking them into oblivion as to one swoobat once said. The news of these new creatures outside the city upset a group of cruel pokemon that liked killing other pokemon either for food, water supply, location or for the females that live there. I also remember another gang run by a purrloin who my father at one point talked about with my mom one late night, it was so long ago and late into the night that i can't remember the details. Everyone was scared, food supplies ran low and every pokemon was defending themselves, good or evil... they would kill anyone for a chance at warmth or food. I remembered that dreadful night like a broken record player playing those awful sounds loudly into my head and images so clearly like a photo.

It was night when my father, mother and i left our home in search of food. My father couldn't leave her or myself alone in case a random pokemon found us and attacked us or worse. it was a terrifying silent warm night as we walked through every neighborhood, past every building and many shady people giving each other some power in a bag behind a building or two... (Yeah, i already know what that stuff is.)

We finally walked down an alley, just near the cities pokemon center when it happened, we were attacked by a houndoom, it startled both of us since it was hiding on top of a small window ledge on the first floor before it jumped down behind us preventing us from escaping. My mother stood in front of me as my father with his scalchop in paw attacked the houndoom, but my father fell after one swipe from the houndooms claw, my father was bleeding from his neck struggling to breathe, my mother had so much tears pour from her eyes, her paws, legs and entire body was shaking. My mother grabbed me and whispered 'Run.' as she grabbed the scalchop on her stomach... it was my scalchop she had on her stomach. she then pushed me behind her trying to run for the main street so i could run to safety. But she was attacked, bitten that even more blood poured out. with one last word she begged for me to run, and so i did. I ran so fast and so far that i ignored the cries of passerby people and pokemon either they were shouting at me to get off the street or some insult people and pokemon make to others, or trying to help...

I slept that night hiding in a trash can made entirely out of... metal, it smelled really bad and there was a liquid substance underneath my body. The dream that night was a cruel one, it was about me with my parents eating food together like we used to before the crisis. I remember waking expecting to see both of my parents with me, but i was alone.

Leaving the trash can i ran back to where we were attacked hoping that they would still be there or perhaps back at home

I ran back to the alley where me and my parents were attacked, once again ignoring the people as they watched me run past them. At times i had feelings they would reach out and pick me up but they never did. By the time i was just a corner away from the alley thoughts gathered in my head, thoughts like seeing my parents again, eating food whenever my dad went to get some so we could eat as a family or on some rare occasions would give me a treat. My mothers smile after she had kissed me goodnight, the warmth she gave me on cold nights. Our training sessions together, boring as though they may be, i always attended them and i always learnt something from them.

I finally reached the corner and turned to see a small crowd gathered around the alley where my parents were last night. In front of the crowd i noticed two people wearing green uniforms carrying something inside a black bag to a truck with big red letters on the side reading 'P.C.S.' (Pokemon Cleanup Service.) I shrugged this off as something irrelevant to me. Running past the crowd i gasped, I saw my mother lying there on the floor covered in blood. Her body had so many teeth and claw marks that almost no blue fur or white on the face was seen. One of the people in the uniforms noticed me approach my mother and told me to stay away but i continued to get close to her, so close that i pressed my paw on her head and shook her to get up. I repeated 'Where's dad?' a few times . I was young then, the kind of young when death was just a word you heard on tv, games and stories, but to actual see it in front of you, a person that was once alive was never to walk or talk, or even smile again. Seeing her lie there scared me so much that i was crying.

 **'Was that Oshawott's parents who died?'** and **'I feel sorry for the little guy.'** also **'What kind of monster did this to them?'** These were the voice i heard attempting to wake my mother up. **'I'm sorry little guy.'** I looked up behind me to see one of the uniformed people trying to pick me up.

 **'Run, Please run!'** Those words i remembered from my mother, i did just that. I ran as fast as i could with no clear direction as to where i was going, i just ran wherever my small legs could take me.

People called for me, but i didn't look back. I then returned to the trash can i slept in last night, looking at my scalchop...or my mothers in front of me, i hugged it like i was hugging my mother like i did most nights. Days of sleeping in the same area and scavaging from trash cans and on a few occasions taking food from a cafe. I became well known around the city as 'The lone Oshawott', this wasn't too bad of a title... well kind of, cause a few new people to the city after hearing about me tried to find and catch me, they never did obviously, they almost did on a few occasions.

"Hey Oshawott." Latias called out to me bringing me back to reality, "You okay? Zack explained what had happened."

With a short quiet sigh i looked down at the carpet floor, "That scalchop was...special to me."

"Before Zack left home to get his starter pokemon, I read about starters of Unova, I also read about Oshawotts and how their scalchops are special too them. I'm sorry Oshawott." I smiled at her, thanking her for cheering me up a little.

"Zack said he would try and fix the scalchop somehow, i'm pretty sure it'll still be useable." I looked behind Latias to see Zack sitting with crossed legs on the carpet as he picked up two pieces of the scalchop and examined them more closely placing them together as if it were a jigsaw puzzle. Watching him pick up different shards of the scalchop trying to find the ones that fit in place left me feeling sad.

"Hey, let's watch some TV, i'm pretty sure there is something that will entertain us until Zack finishes with fixing the scalchop." Latias said as she held my paw as we walked towards the TV in the corner of the room. Totodile, Minccino, Marill, Yamask, Ampharos and Growlithe (I could've just said all of the trainers pokemon, too late.) were all talking amongst themselves until they noticed us approach.

"Sorry about your scallop breaking." Growlithe said irritating me how he said scallop instead of scalchop.

"Do you want to watch TV together?" Minccino asked me with a cute smile. Those questions and appologies were nice to hear... but at times i felt as if they were just words with no meaning to them. It's not as if i didn't appreciate their kind words, i just... *sighs* i don't know.

i sat down with Latias as the TV turned on, it was the news channel about some meteor the size of a house near the planet that will pass in about a few hours. The channel changed to a music channel showing a famous musician playing their most recent hit. The channel then changed to an anime about a Latias wearing a cape with a big letter 'L' on the back. Looking at Latias as her eyes now open and hearing a loud gasp, "Super Latias!" She yelled inching a little closer to the screen.

On the TV the Latias was levitating high in the sky as she watched over the city. The music changed from a peaceful one to a tension one after she heard a scream coming from the streets below her. As she looked down she noticed a young girl was being attacked by a group of arcinines surrounding her, then a sudden 'Dun dun dah!' played which made me face palm for how cheesy this show was. The Latias used dragon rage that defeated the pokemon with ease and was thanked by the young girl as she hugged her. The Latias licked her as she left the scene.

The same thing happened a few times with someone in trouble and Latias helps them. _"I was amazed that this show ran for 9 seasons spawning 4 movies and a few video games. Even i could come up with a better plot than this show."_ The anime ended leaving Latias upset that her favorite show of all time had finished for today. A new anime started up, it was a popular anime featuring this dumb kid with a pikachu getting his pokemon stolen from him by this group.

In this episode it was about him attending the pokemon league.

"I am going to win the pokemon league and become a pokemon master." the kid with the spoke confidently as his pokemon agreed.

A few moments later...

"I lost..."

 _"Don't worry about it, just go to the next couple of regions and i am pretty sure you will win...eventually."_ This show irritated me as to how repetitive it had gotten over the years and how dumb the stealing the common Pokémon that could be found anywhere was.

Looking over at Zack, he was using this liquid stuff called super glue on the scalchop pieces, i've heard about that stuff before and how strong it was when using it so my scalchop would be as good as new. _"Even if all of the pieces are stuck together, would it still work like it wasn't broken."_ These thoughts about my scalchop working again was all i was thinking about and if i would still be considered useful. _"If my scalchop doesn't work again... will Zack let me go from being a part of his team?"_ I wanted my scalchop to work again so something like that wouldn't happen. But if my scalchop didn't work again then i would have to do something else, show that even without my scalchop that i was still useful in battle, that i would learn more moves.

Getting up away from the TV i left the room by myself. I then walked to the workout room inside the center with the door just located near the refreshments. The workout room was a place for both pokemon and human trainers to get fit and practice their moves or learn new ones.

Inside were two men on each different machines, one for running and the other weight lifting. I guess you could call this area some sort of gym. As i stepped on a training mat i thought on all of the moves i already know;

Razor shell...

Tackle

 _"Man i suck, i only know two moves and one doesn't require a scalchop..."_ There was a training dummy with pointy ears in front of me that i just noticed. I was using tackle attack the first few times until i got bored and wanted to work on a new move that could be useful later on. _"Alright, let's see... i am a water type so i should stick to water attacks like..."_ i stopped to think about what move i could learn, but that's when i remembered something my father once told me. 'Water gun, it was my first ever move i learnt when i was your age. My brothers and sisters either learnt tail whip or tackle for their first move.' His laughter as he told this story how he learnt his first move was one of the things that made me smile, hearing stories from my parents long before i even existed, i remembered them.

 _"Guess i should learn water gun. Okay... so how do you actually learn water gun? pretend to throw up until water actually comes out of me? I don't understand that move... maybe i should just concentrate how to use the move."_

Learning a new move i thought was going to be easy, easy like doing something without even realising it until you notice it... (did that part make sense? eh, who cares.) well it wasn't. Most of the time i ran around the training dummy, jumping up in the air and tried to use water gun but ended up falling on to the 'soft' mat. i say 'soft' because this thing wasn't even soft, it was like stepping on a bag of cement.

I was doing this for a long time, longer than 40 minutes so i'll just tell you about my training with my parents than me jumping around like some pokemon trying to be a dancer.

My father was teaching me the basics to a battle and how i should try to find ways to escape a battle should things go wrong.

"Son, whenever you get the chance, try to use the environment to your advantage."

"E-vero-mint"

"Environment, son. It's pronounced environment. Things like rocks, twigs, metal objects or terrain will help. Here's an example, two battlers fight in a snow cave. Battler one notices the floor is slippery whilst battler two doesn't. Battler two could try to fool the other to fall over on the ice inflicting some damage on them or use this as a means to escape."

"I don't get it." My father sighed at my response.

"There is always a way out of battles, even when you think there isn't."

Hmm... that flashback was short. Back to the present i remembered that 'There is always a way out of battles.' I stopped jumping and thought _"Then why couldn't you escape from that pokemon?"_ I'm not sure how long i was standing there for, but i gritted my teeth i attempted another attempt at learning water gun. Those training sessions with my parents, lessons about my surroundings when in battle, I imagined that i was with my parents again, they were watching me, praising my training telling me the same things when i was trying to learn my first move.

 **'You can do it, son.'** and **'You're almost there.'** Suddenly i remembered that pokemon that took them away from me... the houndoom with its glowing eyes, (it was glowing, well not really glowing but the moonlight was shinning down at its eyes) stared at me with the same smile it made when it had killed my father. Scared i tried to leave and run back to the room where Zack was in, but the houndoom was walking slowly towards both my parents.

My courage returned to me as i was now running towards it attempting to stop it, the houndoom noticed me and laughed.

 **"Run boy! You cannot win against something so strong that killed both your parents in ONE STRIKE!"** it's voice became demonic scarring me half to death, "They were like tissue cutting butter with a hot knife." As he said that, my fear almost faded and was replaced with pure anger and desire to gut him. with my paw i reached down to my stomach to use my scalchop for razor shell to touch only my stomach.

His laugh became louder and louder as he approached me slowly. I breathed in and out slowly as i starred at houndoom laughing still. My throat became cold as if i had drank some cold refreshing water... then it felt like i was throwing up but at the same time i was gaining strength, as if i were fully refreshed and energetic. Water emerged from my mouth and hit the houndoom square in the face. The houndoom yelled at it shook the water from its fur leaving it open for an attack and i took it. i used water gun once more but with more power than the one before hitting houndoom as it suddenly faded after the attack. With the houndoom gone i looked back over at my parents as they got up and hugged one another, then they faded.

I wasnt sure what had happened or why that hallucination thing showed up. perhaps it was some food that i ate earlier that expired or maybe it was some smoke or other thing affecting me.

"Whoa, that was a totally awesome water gun." Said one of the men who stood beside me, one sounding like a surfer. You know the kind that says 'Whoa!' and 'totally' and 'dude' like they are doped up.

"Did you just learn that move?" The other guy had asked not sounding like a surfer but... hmm, not sure how to describe the voice but i guess i could just say... someone with confidence . I nodded whilst smiling and began to walk out of that workout room not with a new move, but as an Oshawott who is now stronger than before my life changed when that houndoom killed my parents in cold blood, stronger when i met Zack and fought against tepig and snivy in our first battle.

I was just a few seconds away from the room until i noticed Isaac (Or the weird one as we liked to call him) walking out of the room and knelt down in front of me.

"Hey Oshawott, we got a surprise for you." With that, i ran past him and entered the room to find everyone asleep except for both Zack and Sakura watching TV together. Zack noticed me as i had entered walked over kneeling down in front of me.

"Hey Oshawott." Zack said smiling. "It took awhile but i finally fixed it. See?" He unwrapped a small cloth he picked up from his pocket to see my scalchop, the cracks were visible and like it wasn't broken.

Walking up to the scalchop i picked it up cautiously unsure if the scalchop would fall apart again. Holding the scalchop with both of my paws, i smiled and attempted to use the move razor shell... it worked.

I thanked Zack by hugging him, I then showed him that i learnt water gun by aiming at a plant in the corner of the room. _"I probably killed that plant by over watering it... wait, can that actually happen or has TV lied to me?"_

All of us slept in our own beds, except for myself and the other pokemon who slept on our trainers bed. I was still awake as i looked at the scalchop now attached to my stomach. I then turned my head to look at my friends as they slept in the dark room i felt that feeling i had when i was with my parents. With that, i closed my eyes and slept awaiting a new day.

To be continued...

Trivia:

This chapter was about Oshawott's scalchop breaking, but the location was originally on route 04 rather than Nimbasa city.

 **Next chapter might be a day late since my computer is still dead, i have to resort to using a tablet which i find annoying to use since it is very touch** **sensitive... sighs. Take it easy ya'll.**


	10. Chapter 10 Escort Mission

**AN:Another chapter for ya'll. In total, there will be 40 chapters in the story and once all 40 have been done (maybe) i'll edit the early chapters, mainly chapter 01 as i gotta admit that chapter wasn't a strong start. Well until then, enjoy chapter 10.**

Chapter 10 - Escort Mission

It was morning now. All of us were eating breakfast at the Pokémon centers cafeteria. Sakura was eating a bowel a cereal, Isaac a slice of toast (burnt almost), and I was eating half of a pop tart since Oshawott didn't want to eat Pokémon food that morning.

The cafeteria was almost identical to the one in Accumula town, the only thing different about it was the table having flower pots on each one. We were the only ones inside as we ate our food. In an hour's time, Jean a woman we had to meet at the reception at the Pokémon center so we could begin the mission. Our mission is to escort a Pokémon to Opelucid city so it can be reunited with its trainer again.

"So this woman, who is she? A member of the saviors or something?" Isaac asked eating another slice.

"There's no information whether or not she is a member of the saviors, perhaps she knows who the trainer is." I responded looking out the window next to me.

"I wonder what kind of Pokémon it is." Sakura said after sipping a little of her coffee, "We'll have to get some more Pokémon food before we leave Nimbasa soon."

"And some supplies from next door. We can look around after we pick up the Pokémon."

Sakura and Isaac didn't have any supplies like tents or anything that could be useful if they had to sleep outdoors for the night. I wondered why they never had any equipment other than their Pokémon, potions and food to last for a day or two. Perhaps they never planned to stay out too long and wanted to stay in a Pokémon center or inn.

40 minutes had passed since we were last in the cafeteria, we were waiting in the waiting room of the center until Jean arrived, the room itself was just a small room with glass windows on all three sides with couches in front of them. On the wall next to the door was a large TV displaying the news channel about the upcoming baseball game today in Nimbasa city stadium that would start at around 10. The game was Nimbasa Stars against the Black city Meteors. Isaac wanted to go and see them wanting to cheer for his home team the black city meteors.

 _"Isaac's girlfriend lives in Black city?"_ I looked over at Isaac who was sitting down on one of the couches with his Growlithe as he was feeding it. _"Why is he out here again? To find enough money for her surgery? Wonder how much it costs for the operation."_

"We are live at Nimbasa city stadium were the Carter brothers are signing autographs for their delighted fans." A reporter dressed in red was standing right next to a table surrounded by teenage girls all waiting impatiently to get their baseballs and photos signed by the three brothers wearing their uniforms for the upcoming game. The reporter who went by the name Tomoko smiled as she moved closer to the brothers and asked the eldest brother Ashton Carter noticed her approach. He had a slight dark stubble and had an intimidating look, actually all three of the brothers looked intimidating. The three brothers are well known around Nimbasa city as the stars of Unova and the face of Nimbasa. Yeah sure they are famous, famous enough that they believe that punching/hurting someone seriously injuring them won't get them into trouble. Their father is some kind of important man around Nimbasa... a mayor I think or some kind of politician... the corrupt kind that finds ways to keep out of trouble, bug or small they always seem to get out of it.

About a year ago when I was 13, I remembered hearing about the carter brothers attacking a group of people at a bar in Driftveil. A man had his throat cut after the youngest brother Liam drank too much and caused an argument starting a massive fight with almost everyone at the bar. Troy another one of the brothers was the only one that vandalized the bar, he broke almost every window and broke the bottles behind the bar. The brothers were later arrested but the charges were dropped after their father visited the police station. The bar owners and the injured man tried to sue the brothers, I didn't hear anything else after that and assumed everything was back to normal... guess the father of the brothers stopped them or something.

"Excuse me? I'm looking for Zack Raines, is he here?" A woman had entered the waiting room, she was wearing a green tank top and a black knee length shirt. She had long brown hair that reached down to her mid back. I gotta say, she was attractive alright, but I had to look professional.

"Yes, that's me." I got up and stood in front of her, "You must be Jean, right?"

"Yes I am. Here is the pokéball." In her hand was a regular red pokéball, from the looks of it, it was a little scratched up and kind of dirty. "The trainer's name is Charles McGuire; he will be waiting for you and his to arrive at the Pokémon center on Opelucid city. He has asked for you not to take too long and arrive at the city as soon as you can." She handed me the pokéball and held a piece of paper in front of her. "The Pokémon is a Chikorita. It is a female and a level 14. The trainer does not want this Pokémon to mate with another male and must be fed and looked after until the Chikorita is brought back. Here is a list of food it can eat and other health problems."

"Health problems?" I asked after she handed me the paper of different recipes of different kinds of food and what to and not to eat.

"The Pokémon has had a heart attack on one occasion during its time with Charles. He has asked for the Chikorita to eat only healthy foods." Isaac immediately got up and clutched his chest as if he were having trouble breathing. Sweat dripped from his face as he stood there, Jean however didn't look to happy after what Isaac did.

"You think it's funny for a poke-" Isaac pushed past her and walked quickly out of the door leaving all of us confused.

 **Isaac's POV used with permission**

I ran out that room and into the reception now filled with 3 young trainers, a young boy probably 10 or older donning a red cap wearing a black leather jacket and blue jeans. The 2 other trainers both girls were identical twins, same hair same face. One of the girls were wearing shorts with a white shirt, the other wore black pants and a blue shirt. All three were waiting at the front desk talking with Nurse joy as I ran out of the building struggling to breathe.

I was now outside; I ignored the sounds around me as I knelt down clutching my head with both of my hands.

 _"No...She's... still alright... She's alright..._ I _can save her... Juliet,_ I _will save you."_ My mind was focused on Juliet, her voice echoed through my head,

 _"I'll help you look for the herb your great-grandmother found."_ Her voice, she was so determined to help me look for the herb,

 _"Ever since she had that damned heart attack she has stayed in the hospital._ I _got too hurry up with this money thing... But how? Rob a- no... I'm no better than the people who killed... Granny... what would you do if you were in my shoes? How would you save someone you love?"_ The thought of my grandmother made me smile. My grandmother who I called granny looked after me ever since my parents had died in a plane accident. They left me with my grandmother after my father's mother was almost killed in a mugging and left in a critical state in hospital. I wanted to go with them but I had to go to school and my grandmother would take care of me until then.

The day I heard my grandmother cry was the day I found out both my mother and father were never coming back. Since that day I looked up to my grandmother as if she was my mother.

 _"I should return to them... then again, why am_ I _travelling with them when_ I _am trying to get money? *Sighs* My mind is so fucked up right now..."_ I pinched the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes.

"Isaac, are you alright?" Sakura called out to me from the entrance of the pokemon center, her Minccino wasn't with her this time which was a first.

"y-yeah," I lied trying to sound convincing as I could, but most of the time those that I lied to saw through me like a clear window.

"Then why did you run out like that?"

"I just... needed some fresh air. I was sitting by the window and the sun beam made me a little too hot." I smiled at her until she shifted her shirt a little that I could see her chest, not too much of it but it was visible.

I didn't look at breasts or anything, but I noticed a line similar to that of a scar. This wasn't the first time I noticed a scar on her. It was yesterday after that thing with the hunters that I noticed a small mark on her shoulder, then again on her left ankle after she had got up this morning.

 _"Scars... where did she get those scars from? maybe a pokemon attacked her? If_ I _ask her about it then she could get upset or take it the wrong way... Perhaps Minccino knows... just drop it you idiot, this is why you lose- Arceus! Will you shut the FUCK up!?"_ Sakura was moving around a small rock with her foot, so to break the silence I asked her if she would like to get something to eat with Zack. Sakura seemed reluctant at first but then smiled and walked with me inside the center.

 **POV ends.**

Jean had now left the center leaving me with Chikorita still inside its pokeball and the do's and don'ts on looking after Chikorita. The list contained the following:

Pokefood (Normal/Diet)

Water

Fruits (Any kind)

Medication(s) (Pills for heart, ask at Pokemon center before leaving. Mention my name Charles Maguire and scan its ball for identification.)

Pokeblocks are not allowed (Too much sugar.)

Herbs (Not necessary)

Pizza, burgers, cake, human food (Not allowed.)

Exorcise it on occasions (Battles, running around... make sure it doesn't get fat.)

Also:

 **'Must not evolve!'** written in bold.

This mission was going to be a challenge, especially if it's with a pokemon with a heart condition. I was hoping during the escort mission Chikorita wouldn't have any problems or something bad happened

I meet up with Sakura and Isaac before we entered the cafeteria so we could let our pokemon get some food before we left Nimbasa city. This was a good chance for us to meet Chikorita and get to know each other better.

Releasing Chikorita from her pokeball, her form materialized on the cafeterias floor. Chikorita looked cautiously around the room until her looked at us. I knelt down in front of her and said,

"Hi Chikorita, my name is Zack Raines, your trainer has asked for us to escort you back to him."

Chikorita didn't change her expression which looked angry, she appeared to be moving back slowly away from me but she didn't move after that.

It wasn't until 10 minutes later that me, Sakura and Isaac were discussing how we would get to our destination so that Chikorita would be reunited with her trainer again. We thought about using the trains or busses to get there but after the attack in Castelia they have closed down for a week, we didn't want the trainer to wait long so... walking it is. We talked about going to see the Nimbasa baseball game today, but as it turned out the seats were all full so that was a no. The theme park was still available and wouldn't have as much people there since this baseball game was popular here and most of the citizens of nimbasa were avid fans. I wasn't really much of a baseball fan myself, let alone any sport.

Chikorita was eating some pokefood the center gave out for our pokemon and some other trainers pokemon who sat on the opposite side of the cafeteria talking about an art exhibition somewhere. Latias ate her food at an average pace as she watched the others eat their food. Next to her was Oshawott who must of become good friends with each other since they are always together when they eat, sleep or talk with another. Minccino and marill shared their food together, playing with their food by throwing small pieces into each others mouths, they missed on occasions but the ones they did miss they never ate it. Yamask, Growlithe and ampharos were talking about some that made them laugh, Isaac noticed them too and sighed whilst smiling. Totodile however had gotten up with an apple in his paws as he walked happily towards chikorita who didn't notice his arrival until he was just meer inches away from her.

"Chika?" She sounded angry at Totodile's quick approach. Totodile still smiling offered her an apple but Chikorita refused it by shaking her head and turning away from him, but Totodile tried again to offer her the apple.

"Totodile, dile." he said placing the apple in front of her and walked back to his feeding bowl. Suddenly a vine extended out of the green circle things on her neck and hit the apple and the apple hit the back of Totodiles head.

"Dile?" Totodile looked back to see the apple as it ceased spinning on the floor. Gritting his teeth he got mad and ran up to her preparing to use tackle upon approach.

Chikorita's vine extended further until it reach x3 the length of Chikorita. The other Pokémon noticed this and ran over to stop the fighting. Getting up I grabbed Chikorita's pokéball to return her. "Chikorita, return!" The red beam of light from the ball shot towards Chikorita but she instantly evaded it.

Chikorita ran away from us and out of the cafeteria. "Wait!" I shouted as I ran after her out of the cafeteria, but she was too fast which was surprising for a little Pokémon like her.

Now outside of the center she was gone, I turned in all directions as fast as I could to find her. The others caught up with me soon after I noticed Chikorita running towards the stadiums. _"What? is she a baseball fan or something?"_

The others now standing beside me, I turned to them and said while pointing to where she was, "She went that way, to the stadium." All of us ran after her as fast as we could.

We finally reached the baseball stadium after Chikorita had ran inside the front entrance. The sounds playing from the inside from the cheering to the musical fanfares at random moments in the game, as I stood there I always wondered what a game would be like, going to them with my family or some kind of field trip here... but that never happened.

I called out both Totodile and Latias out of their pokéballs and told them to wait here in case Chikorita ran out. Oshawott stayed behind wanting to be around Latias some more as they sat right outside of the building as we entered inside.

We had entered the stadium to the lobby, it was empty with the exception of the security and a few staff members behind the counter where they served food/drink and game hats and bats for the fans. From where we were, we looked around for Chikorita but we couldn't find any sign of her, even the staff members didn't seem to notice a Chikorita entering the building just now so I was guessing she just sneaked her way past these people.

On the overhead monitor above the counter was a commercial about an upcoming football game against the Unova Regirock's against the Mistralton Palkia's next week Thursday. A tall man wearing the usual football gear and helmet and body armor (Couldn't remember the actual name.) with a featureless face ran with the ball in arms as he tackled his way past many players wearing different colored uniforms. The player with the ball made a dive to evade the other players tackle and to score was cut off with a massive 'THIS THURSDAY, WATCH THE GAME LIVE!' the time of the game was 3 in the afternoon.

"Excuse me." Said a security member as he approached us. Like the other security members he wore a black jacket and cap, but unlike the others he was larger than the others as he towered above all of us.

"The game is full today, so you'll have to go." After he had said that, two more security members approached us blocking the way further into the stadium. "C'mon, leave now!" He demanded raising his voice.

"We're looking for a chikorita, she ran in here not too long ago." I said trying to reason with him.

"We didn't see no Chikorita run in here," the other security member left of the bigger guy said his crossing his arms.

"What? You think by pretending your pokemon just happened to run in here on the day of the biggest baseball game of the year you can get in here for free right?" the bigger guy said too by crossing his arms. "If ya poor, I get it, money doesn't' grow on trees, and this hustle ya pulling ain't working on me or us, so beat it kids!" he pointed towards the door and waited.

"He's telling the truth, please let us through so we can find Chikorita and we can leave." Sakura demanded as she stepped closer to the three, but none of them seemed convinced.

 _"Oh great,what do_ I _do now? Perhaps that Saviors card_ I _got could help."_ Quickly, I reached into my pocket, grabbed my card and showed it to them saying, "Uh... I'm Zack Raines, a member of the Saviors... we need to find Chikorita so we can return her to the trainer." As I said that I lightly smiled remembering that I had wanted to say something like that before I joined the Saviors.

The security guard looked closer while his expression changed from a serious to a annoyed look. "Saviors eh? Never did like 'em." He turned on his radio, "Alan, this is George at the entrance. Have any of your team seen a chikorita anywhere?" There was a short pause for a little while,

"I'm sorry did you just say a Chikorita? Because one of my team members noticed a Chikorita heading towards West section stadium. Is it in your area?" The security man known as George glanced back at me and sighed.

"We have a Saviors member here looking for it." George replied as the other two security members left him with us. "We're sending 'em through."

"Roger that, standing by. Alan out." The radio shut off, "Okay, hurry up and find your chikorita, the people here can get really rowdy in these games so you should get going. I'll have my team assist you."

"Thanks" I replied as he let us through. Walking up the stairs we reached a set of four doors, North, East, South, and West. The man known as Alan said a member of his team noticed a chikorita heading towards the West side of the stadium so we had to plan this out.

"We should split up, the stadium is big enough as it is. uh..." This was harder than I thought, I believed that when I first started the Saviors someone or more would join with me, like I was in a team. Joining with two other people who have not got a Savior ID, I felt like I was thrown into the deep end here. It was like giving a kid a gun and teaching them how to use it and clean it for about an hour, throwing them outside with the gun without supervision. Now that I recall that, that is what they did with me...

"Uh...s-since the name is heading to the West section we cover three areas. Sakura you head towards North so you can block her off as she is coming from west. Isaac you go to the South section. I'll go to the West section." Both of us agreed on this and left to out own. My plan of us splitting us felt like it wouldn't work, but what did happen with us splitting up was something that I didn't want to happen, but I should've expected it before I joined the saviors.

 **Sakura's POV used with permission.**

The North section of the stadium was more louder than the other 3 sections. I remembered when the security guard that wouldn't let us pass before said that all of the seats were full, he was right about that. There weren't as much as children here than fans who drank their beer. A few of the fans wore on their heads a blue and white striped cap with the Nimbasa city logo on the front, it was a capital 'N' colored in yellow with a meteor-like background.

"What a fine day it is for a game. With the score of 03 for Nimbasa, Black city has 05 points so far." Just as the announcer said that, the Nimbasa city audience were booing Black city whilst them were cheering madly.

Walking down the aisle past the cheering crowd for a chikorita was like finding a needle in a haystack. I hoped that some random fan wouldn't try to grab it among the crowds or kidnap it. As I walked past them I could hear some fans argue with each other.

"Dude! Jack Dagger could kick your fucking ass!"

"Nah-uh dude! That guys a douche bag."

"Fuck you, man!"

Halfway down the aisle, I heard a few people talk about me, things like yelling a quick 'Slut' and 'Skank' I just ignored them, but Minccino however was trying to approach them, but I had a good grip on her.

"Sakura" It was a man's voice, a familiar one, but it couldn't be I thought. As I turned to the man behind me, I smiled happily. Like that last time I saw him he was wearing a gray suit, white shirt and black tie. His long brown hair that reached down to his shoulders always made me smile, I guess it was a hint that I liked him (Obviously).

"Deacon!"

We found a place to sit at the top. Deacon wasn't an adult, he was about 16 years old, three years older than me. He was stroking Minccino's head as he gave her some candy floss he bought from the man selling food as he passed by.

"It's been a while," he smiled. "8 months actually."

"What have you been up to?" I asked watching Minccino eat a large amount of it with some getting stuck on her fur.

"I have been moving a lot of my stuff here to Kalos."

"Kalos? You're moving there?" I asked him as I looked towards him, he looked at me and said,

"I think it's good for me to live somewhere else than here, I need to get away from them. I have already found a place to live, an apartment near a beach."

The announcer spoke into the microphone and said with astonishment "What an amazing hit! Liam Carter star of Nimbasa and youngest of the Carter brothers hit a home run."

"That's good, I'm happy for you." I got to say I really was happy for him, but a small part of me didn't want him to go, but I didn't want to trap him in a region he didn't want to stay in anymore.

"I'll be moving to Kalos in a few days. After the attack in Castelia recently the harbor hasn't allowed any boat to leave. So here I am trying to enjoy myself until I can leave."

Deacon looked back at the game and watched, "How about you Sakura? What have you been doing?"

"I'm travelling around Unova, I don't know... I guess trying to find my place here, a job that is."

"You travelling with anyone?" He looked at me again as I stared at him.

"I am, I'm travelling with a new recruit of the Saviors. He's 14 years old, a little shy at times but he's a good guy."

"A Savior member huh? Why are you following this guy around?"

"I don't know, well- like I said before, i really don't know what career I want to do."

"You like this guy?" He teased as I immediately said, "Of cause not, no not at all. He's just a friend." Deacon smiled and returned his gaze back at the game that continued.

"Oh yeah," i said as I remembered Isaac and his ability to speak with Pokemon.

"There's also this other boy, a 16 year old travelling with us. He has this amazing ability that allows him to speak and understand Pokémon."

Deacon's eyebrows raised as he heard that, "He can understand them? How? Like reads their body language or-"

"He said that it's like they are speaking in English or human" I interrupted him as I explained more about Isaac.

"Minccino!" Minccino nodded gaining the attention of both of us. Deacon smiled looked at me.

"You've got some good friends there. This is really good for you."

I smiled lightly at that, ever since I first joined the sessions with the group that I first met Deacon, I thought that I would never be like who I was. But then there is the rain that still scared me, every time it rained... was when I was punished... in a way no child should ever bear. I suppose I don't like being alone, but when I am I am soaked...

"Deacon, I'm sorry but I have to go." I said as I had got up from my seat picking Minccino up.

"Sakura," he told me with the same smile he gave me when I met him "We'll see each other again. But until that time take care." I smiled as I began to walk away from Deacon.

I feel that when I am alone I get soaked in the heavy rain. Deacon, Minccino, Zack and Isaac, I feel that all of you are the umbrella, a guard against the harsh rain.

 **Isaac's POV used with permission**

Finding a Chikorita in this stadium was difficult. Sure if it was like a Wailord then BHAM! it was right there in front of you standing out like a sore thumb, but a Chikorita could hide under these chairs or easily slip past us without anyone knowing.

 _"Okay, where am_ I _now?"_ There was a sign on the wall beside me, it read 'N-Sec' with the arrow pointing towards the stairs in front of me. I hate baseball, never really saw what the big deal it was. You hit a ball using a wooden bat, run to base or attempt at running through the entire field... whatever.

As I was walking I noticed a door that was open, looking closer I noticed that there were people inside watching the game. From where I was I noticed that all of the kids in front of the window had the Black city high school emblem on their jackets. I walked into the sky box or like one of my friends use to say the 'Dumb ass box' not sure as to why he called it that, it could be because someone from one of those boxes dropped some food on him or his father got them into one but for some reason couldn't go into them anymore... it was either one of those two.

"Excuse me?" The children didn't even turn around to acknowledge me, but what I did get was a response from another man, like the students he wore the same jacket, he was bald and had a mustache, from the looks of him he was probably like in his late 40s.

 _"A bald head... looking for that shine somewhere."_

*Ding*

 _"There it is."_ Not sure why I added that part into it, humor I guess or just trying to add some more words into this thing.

"This area is only reserved for Black city High school." He approached me trying to block off the room.

"I'm looking for a Chikorita, she ran off earlier and we really need to get her back. Have you seen her?" I asked him but he shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but I haven't seen any Chikorita."

"Thanks." I said before began to walk out of the room, but it wasn't until I heard something that made me stop.

"Black city meteors will win, Black city meteors are strong, together as a team we have a strong bond" The children in front of the glass chanted that 3 times before cheering along with the teacher. That chant was something i heard when i went to that school. Suddenly i remembered hearing about that chant...

Juliet's voice echoed through my head as i remembered her talk about it at one point when we were sitting together at the school football field. 'Did you know my mother made this chant when she attended here?' Walking back out of the room i began to walk towards the South section of the stadium.

 **Zack's POV**

The West section was full of Nimbasa city fans cheering for their team.

Most fans usually sit in the center of a section to avoid confrontation with the other team. Sometimes they sit near the other teams fans to either yell at them, throw things or throw a punch or two if they can

The crowd cheered as their team scored getting them closer to victory. the announcer declared a break for both teams to announce the upcoming football game next week.

After searching the West section for some time i then thought back to when that security guard talked to that other guy on the radio.

 _"Perhaps i should go and talk to them, it might lead me to Chikorita."_ I walked back out away from the crowd and headed towards the security room hoping to use the cameras to find chikorita that way.

My heart was beating fast now from worrying about chikorita.

 _"My first mission and i blew it. *Sighs* what do i do?"_ I was almost near the security room now hoping that one of the cameras caught a glimpse of her running in some direction.

"Chika!" Hearing that as it echoed throughout the corridor i stopped. I looked behind me before i heard it again coming from that direction. With a sigh of relief i ran towards her voice as fast as i could.

 _"Yes! Now i won't get in trouble. Just catch Chikorita again, get everyone else and go to opelucid city."_

I slowly stopped running after i heard laughter followed by Chikorita's cry just inside the room that read 'Locker room' on the side.

"Ya think you can just waltz in here and throw our stuff out of our lockers?!" There were shouting coming from the room. I approached the room to find three teens cornering Chikorita around clothes and bags spread out on the floor.

"Those sneakers were not cheap you little fuck!" The tallest man kicked the wall behind her attempting to scare her which it did. This act made the other two teens laugh louder as they hit the wall with their hands causing more noise laughing more and more causing Chikorita to tear up hiding her head with both of her front legs.

 _"I'm not a guy who confronts people like this... N-no, I'm a Savior member now. I've got to help her."_ Suddenly one of the three noticed me and asked,

"Who are you little brat?" The three stopped scaring her and now looked at me, the three were the Carter brothers known for being the thugs of Nimbasa. Like i mentioned before with the bar fights and despite all of that they still had fans, fans that say things like 'They would never do anything like that.' or 'They're angels.'

"If ya wanna autograph come back later. Liam, Bribe the kid that he say nothing going on here." The middle brother approached me with 1000PD in hand. "You ain't saw nothing here. Just three brothers enjoying a soda and talking with their groupies." The eldest brother snickered gaining the attention of the middle brother. "That's what they are called. Women who want ta get it on with us. Musicians don't get to hog all of that."

"I-I-" I was stuttering in my speech, I tried to stop it but it became more and more difficult with each passing moment. "S-Savior... i'm a member of the Saviors, that chikorita is-"

"So what if you are a member of the Saviors, I said Beat it!" He kicked me in the chest out of the room. As i fell i groaned from the pain of the kick trying to get up. "Take the money and fuck off! Don't make us attack you instead." The money fell on the floor in front of me. The brother returned to the group to torment Chikorita again.

As i looked up i saw Chikorita look at me with tears dropping from her eyes, it reminded me of the time when i was bullied in school and no one helped me. I stood up ignoring the pain and shouted,

"L-leave her alone!" The three brothers looked at me once more. The youngest brother who grinned approached me throwing his baseball glove on the floor.

"You say you're a Savior eh? If you keep bothering us then our father will call Your boss and have you fired. Is that what you want? HUH!? Then get the fuck out of here!" He attempted to punch me in the face but i quickly dodged out of the way. The brother then kicked the back of my leg making me fall to the ground as the three brothers laughed. If i had my pokemon here with me then this would've been easier handle.

 _"Next time i'll bring someone with me...i should've done that."_

I tried to get back up but he punched me right across the side of my face, i didn't feel it at first but after a few seconds the pain on my face began to spread like as if my face were on fire. I was scared, i didn't know what to do, should i cower then they would obviously beat me up some more, should i run then the fate of Chikorita's life with those scumbags would mean death.

In front of me, like a shinning light beaming down in the dark i saw a baseball bat made entirely out of wood. It was an old beat up baseball bat with cobwebs covering the end of it. Without thinking i grabbed it with my left hand and swung it hitting the brother in the head.

Inside the manual of the Saviors handbook it said that i could defend myself even if it means my life or others were in jeopardy, Chikorita's life was in jeopardy so i had to save her and myself.

 _"Carter brother or father doesn't scare me!"_ I remembered the times when i was attacked by bullies, i wanted to fight back, but i was scared. _"I'm not afraid! I'm not afraid anymore!"_ I hit him again but on the shoulder this time, that was when i heard it, a pop noise or a crunching sound.

The brother fell to the ground holding his shoulder screaming at the top of his lungs as his arm dangled. I had dislocated his shoulder, but not on purpose or anything.

The middle brother ran up to me screaming, "Son of a bitch!" as he punched me in the stomach a few times. Struggling to get out of his grip i pushed him off and with the bat i hit him with it in the nose with the knob of the bat breaking it instantly. The brother then fell beside his brother covering his nose with both of his hands.

The eldest brother, Carter with his arms crossed sighed, "If you asked nicely then we would've gave you your friend."

"W-what," i was attempting to catch my breath, my heart was beating so fast as my hand began to tighten around the bat. "You should've let Chikorita go... Give her back to me."

Carter then smiled, "If ya want her back then go get her." He moved to the side giving me enough room to get her. Cautiously i walked slowly towards Chikorita who i noticed had a small cut and bruise on her back, i was making sure i kept my eye on Carter. I was thinking that since i had the upper hand here with the baseball bat i could easily get Chikorita, walk out and call an ambulance and the police.

I knelt down to pick her up so we could leave this place, but Chikorita shouted. It was only for 2 seconds that i looked away from his that Carter was doing something out of my view. Looking back quickly at him, Carter raised his arms and swung with a metal bat at me, my legs gave way and i fell to the floor as Carter hit the wall with his bat causing some of the wall to crack. I got up as quickly as i could before he could strike again. Carter was slowly approaching me with his bat raised above his head.

"I could just tell any story, a kid with his crazed pokemon found his way to the locker rooms to attack us. He attacked us one by one attempting to rob from us or even kill us!" He yelled as he struck at me, but i used the wooden bat to defend from the hit, which it did but the weight and strength of his bat almost made me let go leaving me defenseless.

"I defended my brothers by using my bat to stop him fro his attacks. The ambulance will arrive leaving you hopefully into a coma!" His metal bat against my bat scrapping against each other was tiring, i was almost losing my grip on the old bat. "My father will then hunt your fucking family down and send out into the street. Got a sister huh? 'Cose we could use a little 'fun' maybe have our way with her so she can pay off your medical bills." He laughed as my anger rose, and to think that evil bastard was so set up on doing all of this, to get away with this made me angrier.

With his right leg he managed to kick me to the ground, with his bat he knocked it out of my hand to the opposite side of the room. He raised the bat above his head and smiled.

"See ya kid." There was no sound after that, no cheering of the fans from the arena, no music, no announcements, nothing but silence. I couldn't think of anything, like a statue i just sat there awaiting for the hit. Suddenly the eldest brother fell to the ground with a loud groan. Looking at the brother, he was being dragged by a single vine that was wrapped around his legs.

"Ah! L-let go of me you stupid Pokemon! I said Get off!" Carter attempted to hit Chikorita with the metal bat but missed a few times, with each strike getting closer to hitting her, i got up as fast as i could and ran towards the wooden bat and hit him on the head with it as hard as i could.

He then dropped the bat on the floor as his eye shut... he was out but still breathing. Walking over to Chikorita as her vine retracted back to her she looked up at me. Kneeling down to her i asked if she was alright. At this she collapsed on the ground.

 **1 hour Later**

The game that over a thousand of fans wanted to see was angry that the game was cancelled because of what had happened. All three carter brothers ended up in hospital after that attack. I gave my statement to the police and that that. Lee contacted me using the Device asking me about what had happened. I explained the situation to him, how Chikorita ran off, all three of us trying to find her until the confrontation with carter brothers.

"So you survived a confrontation with those brothers hm? By 'survive' i mean argument wise. Heh, those dick-wads sure did like causing fights. You okay kid?"

"I'm alright, i got to admit i was scared back there."

"Believe me kid, every member of the Saviors including me get scared on every mission, you never know what may happen. Those brothers you beat up... some people may disagree with your actions, ya know, the messed up people will say that, but between me and you; nice going."

"Do you think i could've done anything different about it?" I asked him thinking back on my actions. "Instead of sending them to hospital."

"Zack, you defended yourself and Chikorita. As far as we are concerned you did the right thing. So Zack, do you know what you have to do for your mission."

"Yes, escort Chikorita to Opelucid city to be reunited with her trainer."

"Good luck out there, kid." The device shut off leaving me alone outside the stadium as the police held some fans back as they shouted and screamed what happened to the brothers.

 _"I should get out of here before they find out it was me... don't want to get attacked by the crazy fans."_ Just then, Isaac, Sakura and my pokemon approached me asking me what had happened, like with Lee i told them about the brothers were frightening Chikorita and left a bruise and cut on her back. I also told them about how they attacked me and how i defended myself.

"The Carter brothers hm?" Isaac asked crossing his arms, "They're bad news alright. What they did doesn't surprise me. What's worse is that the police will not do anything about them."

"Opelucid city, right?" Isaac asked fisting the air above him.

"Yeah." Sakura smiled as she picked up Minccino. Oshawott jumped back onto my shoulder, Latias and Totodile hugged me both preventing me from moving my arms or legs.

After returning both Totodile and Latias inside of their pokeball's and made our way to Opelucid city. The walk towards the exit was loud because of the screaming and shouting of fans arguing with each other about who would've won the game or which team is better than the other.

Isaac attempted to talk to Chikorita earlier as to why she ran away but she refused to speak to him often calling him 'The weird one' as do most of our pokemon do. Chikorita despite being rescued from me didn't like me or anyone else, so it was best to take her out of her ball during eating and for fresh air and hope she doesn't run off again.

 **Meanwhile in the NImbasa city Hospital**

A man in his late 50s with gray hair, wearing a brown suit and black tie was arguing with a nurse who was trying to calm the situation down, but he wasn't listening to her pushing past her as he entered the room of the Carter brothers. All three brothers where in bed all wearing bandages with an angry look on all of their faces.

"Old man?" Liam questioned as he looked at the man enter starring at all three with a shocking expression on his face.

"Hey pops, how did you know we where-" He didn't finish his sentence as the man known as Mr. Carter grabbed his eldest son around the collar.

"Who did this to you? What happened!?" Mr Carter shouted as 2 nurses and 3 security guards came in.

"Mr. Carter, we must ask for you to leave." The nurse entered the room but was stopped by the security. "You are causing a disturbance for other patients here."

Mr Carter turned to her and shouted, "I don't give a Fuck about those sick bastards!"

"But sir-" The nurse was interrupted again by Mr Carter as he pointed at her.

"You're a new recruit right? So listen up; Shut the Fuck up and now your place!"

The nurse sighed but was comforted by the other nurse standing beside her.

"A Savior..." He spoke groaning in pain. Mr carter approached the brother with the broken nose and asked,

"A Savior did this to you? Why?"

"Kid...t-tried to rob us, he was mad... Him and that Chikorita of his... They Attacked us!"

Outside of the room Mr Carter stood making a phone call with an anonymous man on the phone.

"My sons told me it was a Savior kid with a Chikorita... Savoir members go out to save, protect and help others blah, blah you get the idea. Listen to me, set them free when they are ready..." He listened in as the man on the other side of the phone talked to him.

"When that happens... lure 'em in and make sure he dies." The man gritted his teeth as the man told him something he didn't like, something that made him more angry.

"Find out who the kid is or else i'll kill you instead!" He slammed the phone back into the booth ending the call and walked off.

"No one messes with my family... no one."

To be continued...

Trivia:

In the original draft for this chapter chikorita attempted to run away but was found later by Zack and the others attempting to return her to her pokeball but chikorita attacked them. The brothers whoever were not included into the story.


	11. Chapter 11 Escape Part 01

**AN: Sorry for the long wait. My computer broke, had to take it to repairs (which took so long) and tried alternative ways to upload more the story but couldn't. So i will upload chapters 11 and 12 today. chapters will then be uploaded every thursday. Please enjoy chapters 11 and 12.**

Chapter 11 - Escape Part 01

As we left Nimbasa city we could still hear the shouting from the fans as their anger increased. Route 5 was quite even with these people standing around here waiting for the drawbridge to open. We waited beside a tree in silence, Oshawott gave me his scalchop to check up on after it was recently broken during a battle. The glue i bought for repairing the shell worked nicely and didn't seem to be coming apart. I gave the shell back to him and he activated Razor shell and swung it around playfully, smiling as he did.

"HELP!" Everyone turned to the screaming woman as she ran out of the forest with torn clothes and bleeding on her legs and forehead. As she reached the road she fell to the ground with many people rushing over to her. We walked over to but couldn't get any closer with all of these people in the way. A man with a beard and glasses was the first to ask her what had happened.

"A-Annihilation... I-in the forest... m-my son is in there...Billy!" She shouted attempting to get up but was held down by the others.

"So, is this a job for the Saviors then? Ya know, Annihilation?" Isaac asked speaking quietly among the crowd.

"Anything involving Annihilation isn't good news, we have to help." I replied as we began to walk away from the crowd and ran inside the forest where the woman came from.

The blood from the woman was leading to a valley with high cliffs. "Why was that woman and her son here?" Sakura had asked as we walked in a line down the narrow valley.

"Perhaps she was sightseeing or just going for a walk." Isaac said to her looking up at the top of the cliffs.

"But there isn't anything in route 5. It's just a forest that leads to the ocean and cliffs. There is hardly any Pokémon living here." What Sakura said made me wonder why the woman was here with her son, but i just shrugged it off thinking the son wanted to go for a walk into the forest.

The bloodstain suddenly stopped midway in the middle of the valleys path. It was a large stain, but apart from that... the woman did seem to lose a lot of blood.

*Crunch* Suddenly we heard footsteps behind us. Turning around we saw the very same woman who screamed out of the forest standing behind us with a smile on her face.

"Osha?" Siad Oshawott as he began to look around as if he were warning us about something, but it was too late to do anything as the woman shouted,

"NOW!"

We heard rustling from bushes on the cliff as Annihilation Troopers left them and aimed their weapons at us. More of them appeared from behind the tree's in front of us and behind us. All of us froze in place as every Annihilation Trooper aimed their assault rifles and pistols at us. An Annihilation's Uniform was black all over from boots to helmet, but the only thing that wasn't black was the large yellow letter 'A' on their foreheads.

"Wow, I can't believe that worked." She laughed as she grabbed a gun from her coat. "I was like 'HELP! ANNIHILATION!' *Laughs*" As she laughed the other members of Annihilation laughed with her.

"Wait!" Isaac begged, "We don't have any money or valuables." The woman walked up to Isaac pushing past both me and Sakura. She faced him and said,

"I don't care if you have a million PD or nothing, we have new recruits to join us." With that she hit Isaac on the head with her gun as he collapsed to the ground and quickly clicked her fingers signalling the others to shoot at us. The shots fired weren't lethal, they were tranquilizer darts hitting me in the arm, Oshawott on top of his head, Sakura on her leg and Minccino on her chest. I could only feel a slight sting as the needle came into contact and thought that the needle was unaffected for some reason... then came darkness as i felt lightheaded as my body fell to the ground.

 **Unknown Location**

I awoke in a dark cell to find both Isaac and Sakura inside with me. Isaac was still unconscious but Sakura was awake. Sakura noticed that i was awake and crawled over to me to help me up. This gave me a better view of the cell, the walls made entirely out of metal, from the looks of them they seemed new or this cell wasn't used that much. The floor like the walls were also metal. There were a few stains of blood around the cell, it was most likely Isaac's as his head had dried blood on him as he was lying on top of a bed. The cell bars weren't exactly metal bars that you'd expect in a prison cell, but it was a green beam like laser that each beam wouldn't allow anything larger than a pokéball through. These energy bars were recently produced for prisons. They were pretty good to use to stop prisoners from attempting to grab other prisoners and guards from outside of their cells. The bad thing about them were if the electricity happened to go out then the energy bars would stop working.

"Are you alright Zack?" Sakura asked me helping sit up.

"I'm alright... Where did Oshawott and Minccino go?" Sakura looked at the Annihilation Trooper standing outside of the cell.

"They took all of them, including out items."

"How's Isaac?" i asked slightly rubbing my chest after feeling a light sting.

"He's still unconscious, I have tried asking the guard for some water or get his wound treated but they refuse to do anything or listen."

"Shut up in there." The guard guarding the cell demanded through the other side of the cell not moving an inch.

"Please, our friend here needs water, a bandage even," Sakura pleaded with the guard trying to convince him to get Isaac treated, "Please-"

The guard suddenly turned around, "If you do not shut up, I'll cut your fucking tongue out. So SHUT up!" The shouted before facing away from us and back to his position on the side of the cell.

Sakura walked up to Isaac to check on his wounds leaving me to sit there on the cold cell floor.

Looking around some more I tried to find an advantage or anything to help us escape this cell... but I found nothing, we were trapped in that cell awaiting for whatever Annihilation were about to do to us.

 **Meanwhile on the other side of the compound**

Oshawott, Latias, Totodile, Chikorita, Minccino, Marill, Yamask, Growlithe and Ampharos all walked in a single line as two Annihilation Troopers, a female with a shotgun up front and a male trooper behind pushing Ampharos forward to keep up with the others.

The male trooper walked to the side as they approached a door, "Stay here." He inserted his key card into the device and waited for the light to turn green. The door opened and ordered the Pokémon to move forward aiming his gun at them.

When all Pokémon were through the trooper followed and began to push Ampharos again who was getting more and more irritated with each push.

Walking down the corridor another Annihilation member approached them. An older member. "Quite the collection you got here." The trooper looked at them, but all of them in fear didn't look at him. "Three trainers, three starters... you captured kids?"

The female trooper stepped forward, "It's better than letting them go and blabbing about us to the Saviors. I mean, what else could we have done?"

"She's got a point there... But we can't kill these kids." The older male trooper aimed his pistol at both members and calmly said to them,

"The boss told me and you this, 'Anything species, gender or age is acceptable' we need them so Annihilation defeats those who oppose us. You two should remember that enemies of Annihilation will die." There was silence as the oldest member rested his pistol on his shoulder, "If you don't want to be here then go, or don't you believe in Annihilation making this world a better place?"

"Forgive us sir, we are Annihilation members forever." The female trooper saluted as she looked at the male trooper.

"Sir. Annihilation forever." The male trooper saluted.

The eldest began to chuckle as he looked at the Pokémon in front of him, some shaking, some tearing up.

"What Pokémon is this? This red and white one here?"

"Sir, that is a Latias, a Pokémon from the Hoenn region. It is a dragon/psychic type and a female only species." The male trooper told the eldest not leaving his gaze away from Latias. "It is also a legendary Pokémon sir."

"Legendary you say? Rare or not, these will add more power to our units." The trooper then petted her head. Oshawott's anger increased when he saw Latias tear up a little. "It's alright if ya ain't gonna see your trainer again. Just think of it that he is abandoning you." Latias was on the verge of crying but Oshawott stepped out of line and approached him.

"Hey, get back in line!" The male trooper commanded aiming his gun at him.

The eldest trooper knelt down and held his hand gesturing him to lower his "No-no, let this little guy try and fight me. I want to see what he's got." The eldest trooper pulled out a knife from his belt and carefully watched Oshawott.

"You see this knife little guy? This thing can cut skin with ease, so if you don't want to see your friends sliced up you return to the line... or perhaps we'll just cut off one of those kid's head off?" The eldest member aimed the tip of the knife at Oshawott's face but he wasn't afraid of him. Latias grabbed him by his paw and pulled him back, Oshawott walked back to the line.

"You see? show them you are not fucking around and they won't do a fucking thing." The eldest trooper got up and walked to the male trooper, "Learn from it or they will walk all over you. Take 'em to their cells." The eldest trooper walked away and through the door.

As the Pokémon and the two troopers were walking through the corridors Latias quietly whispered to Oshawott, "Thank you." giving him a smile that made Oshawott blush.

A few moments later of what seemed like endless walking through metal corridors they finally approached a cell with the energy bars still up. The female trooper was entering something on the keyboard in front of her. The male trooper aimed his gun at all of them and watched them carefully.

"Latias," Latias carefully turned to see Yamask beside her, "I'll use shadow ball on the female and you use psychic, knock him out."

Latias used psychic on the male pushing him into a wall. The female trooper turned to see that the commotion was but all she could see was a large shadow ball hitting her in the face knocking her out. The male trooper got up again but was hit in the head by Totodile head butting him.

It took them about a few minutes for them to carry both troopers into the cell and activate the bars by randomly pressing buttons.

"Okay, our first thing we should do is-" Growlithe was cut off from Marill with, "Who said you were the leader?"

"Because I am the oldest one here and the one with high intelligence than anyone here."

"Just because you are older doesn't mean you are more intelligent than us." Oshawott stepped forward facing Growlithe.

"Oh look, Osha-bitch approaches. Wow, do you like showing off or is some way to make everyone like you, cause i do not like you." Marill coldly said to him.

Just then, the janitor of the building entered through the doors, "Alright, I'm here. Where is this so-called emergency?" He stopped as he stared at the Pokémon looking at him. he also noticed the troopers in the cell all knocked out. He began to run out of the room but Yamask threw a bucket at his head knocking him out as he fell to the ground.

"Sorry." Yamask apologized to the unconscious man, "I was trying to aim for your legs... I'm so sorry."

They grabbed him and threw him into the same cell they placed the troopers in after carefully pressing the buttons so they didn't press the send for janitor button again or some other button that would lead to more trouble.

All of them gathered around for a plan to escape the building with their trainers.

"How about we take out the generators? Zack came up with the idea to shut them off-"

"Oh poor Zack," Marill interrupted Latias with a smug smile, "My precious trainer thought up a plan to stop some enemies. Seriously that's all you ever talk about, 'Zack this' and 'Zack that' it's like you love him or something, what are you, a sicko for loving a human? if that' the case he'll be arrested and humiliated for being a fucking pokephilia. disgusting scu-" Marill was cut off when Latias pushed her over with her psychic. Marill retaliated with a water gun attack to Latias' face. Latias was about to attack her again but Ampharos got in their way.

"We should be working together, not fighting against one another. The faster we find our trainers the better." Ampharos stepped aside.

"Let's find our trainers first, then we can work out how we can escape from here." Growlithe insisted as he looked at each one as they agreed with him.

The Pokémon then left the room cautiously as the corridor in front of them was empty. As they ran they made sure to have their moves ready in case they were met with a group of enemies or some kind of trap[ that Annihilation could've set up for intruders. When the Pokémon had reached the end of the corridor and to the door, they then realized that they needed a key card to enter and that one of the troopers put the card back in their pocket. Totodile was about to head back, but suddenly the door in front of them opened. An Annihilation member stopped as he noticed the Pokémon were not in their cells and began to raise his gun but was electrocuted by Ampharos as he fell. But what we didn't expect is that he still had his finger on the trigger. The gun fire was so loud the most of the covered their ears but Latias continued using Protect but a much more stronger version of it preventing any bullets hitting them. Some bullets ricocheted off the Protect and hit an alarm as the room began to emit a bright red as an alarm blasted through the room.

"Now you've gone and done it you stupid eon." Marill shouted irritably at her.

"I didn't do it on purpose." Latias defended but Ampharos got their attention by shouting 'Run!' as the doors began to close in front of them. there was a door already open on the side of the corridor so they easily took it after having no key card and not enough time to take down a door.

In front of them were about 8 Annihilation troopers on the other side of the room aiming their weapons at them.

"Fire! Leave none alive!" He commanded as all troopers with their guns shot at all Pokémon they could. Everyone was hit but to avoid further fire they evaded by hiding behind some boxes that prevented bullets hitting them. All of them were bleeding pretty badly and their HP had dropped for most critical level and some halfway.

"It hurts... *sobs* it hurts!" Minccino cried as Yamask provided comfort for her. Latias continued to use Protect as she covered herself whilst in the protect.

"Oshawott, your head!" Totodile pointed to Oshawott's head as he was resting beside Minccino. Like Minccino, he was bleeding pretty badly, but on his head. He was now on critical HP and if he lost anymore he would died. Oshawott's breathing became steadier as he watched Latias protecting him and everyone else.

Latias then had an idea, something that she thought could help them get out of here much faster, "I can use my ability to sneak up on them and attack them." Oshawott looked at her again, "No, don't." He breathed as he tried to get up but his head injury was making it difficult.

Latias let go of using the protect and began, "Yamask, help me out here." Yamask nodded and faced the troopers still firing at them. Yamask used nightmare which seemed it didn't do anything at first but then for three of them saw images of their fears, they screamed in terror as they dropped their guns and ran out of the room knocking over some boxes on the way out. Latias who had used her invisibility like move to quickly sneak behind them and fired a powerful mist ball at them. Latias quickly returned to the others and used protect again.

The captain who managed to return standing grabbed his radio, "This is sixth squad captain, send backup, I repeat, send back up now!" the captain then was knocked out by Growlithe using ember at his chest as he fell over on the ground hitting his head.

More troopers appeared and fired more and more rounds at them, until one of them hit a fuse box completely shutting off all lights within the room. The troopers then activated their flashlights attached to their weapons and aimed at the Pokémon again but didn't fire.

Unsure as to why they ceased firing, Latias with her protect still active slowly raised her head from the cover to look, but the lights from the flashlights prevented her from seeing past the cover.

*Vroom* A mechanical noise was heard coming from behind the troopers. *Vroom* another noise was heard which sounded like footsteps slowly coming closer to them. Until suddenly Latias saw it behind them, two large red lights like eyes staring right back at her. The light from room this machine came from lighted up the room better. It was a large humanoid machine, black in color and carrying a gun which appeared to resemble a larger version of an assault rifle. it was an unmanned machine walking without any one inside moving independently as it opened fire on the Pokémon scared for their lives.

To be continued...

Annihilation 01/03 - Mecha Version A

Level 06 (Level is shown as 01 being the weakest and 10 as a powerful opponent and should be approached with caution and preparation.)

HP 300/300

Attack 148

Defense 171

200

189

Speed 150

Ability Motor Drive (Although this Mecha is not a Pokémon it's ability is similar to Motor Drive, an electric attack will increase its speed.)

Moves PP Type Description

Laser 06 Ranged A laser attack capable of slicing limbs off targets if their HP is 10% or less. This attack is low in strength.

Gatling Gun 04 Ranged A gun the fires ammunition at fast speeds shredding the target to mere pieces. This attack is high in strength.

Missiles 04 Ranged An explosive attack that damages anything close to its target. This attack is medium in strength

Razor Claw 12 Close range An attack that can crush a target if grabbed or scratched should one get too close. This attack is Medium in strength

 **Notes about Annihilation Mechas:**

Version A Mechas can walk on its two feet making it capable of walking through forests and jungle terrains with ease. Version As do not create a lot of noise whilst moving making them excellent at stealth. They can also climb tall buildings and mountains sometimes even jumping on to them 10 times the height of that of a human.

Only a few of these have appeared throughout the Unova region once believed to be manned weapons but they were AI weapons programmed by Annihilation. The weak spot after several battles trying to find a way to defeat them was in fact the back of the head, but this weak spot can only be uncovered after a massive hit from either RPGs or Pokémon move to remove the defense blocking the weak spot. This Mecha is not effective by electricity attacks but instead powers up its speed making it faster and more deadly.

They have also been seen one a few occasions to hover off of the ground, it is unknown as to how long they can stay in midair for or how fast they can travel.

A disturbing recording from one of our Savior members witnessed Mecha collecting dead bodies after a battle. The Savior member who has asked not to be named escaped without being seen after suffering a serious injury.


	12. Chapter 12 Escape Part 02

**AN: Second story to upload. Hope you enjoy.**

Chapter 12 - Escape Part 02/02

We had been in the cells for the past 2 hours, no one had said a word or even whispered. Isaac has recently regained consciousness. The guard then gave us a bottle of water each, it was kind of warm water but still drinkable...barely. Isaac's head wound isn't that bad.

Looking at the floor beneath me as I sat there on the cold hard metal floor, all I could think about was what Annihilation were going to do to us.

 _"What do I do? What do they want from us? M-maybe they'll let us go... Yeah, we are just young people going on a journey to-"_ That's when it hit me... my savior id card, I had it on me before we were imprisoned, they obviously knew who I was now. _"I'm as good as dead... not even a week into this job and I am already captured by the enemy. My life was fun while it lasted... Latias, Oshawott, Totodile, Chikorita... was I a good trainer for you? I wanted to do more things with you guys... I wanted for us to have a chance to do things friends usually do..."_

The radio on the guards chest beeped. He pressed the button on the side. "Guard 454 Prison center I read you."

"This is Squad E in the North section. The captain needs to speak to you." The guard then looked back at the cells then said, "I'm guarding some prisoners right now, can it wait?"

"Relax, they ain't getting out of there. Head on over to the North section ASAP. Out." The radio shut off as the guard began to walk towards the exit.

"*Sighs* making me do everything in this fucking rust bucket... all because I'm the new guy." He left through the automatic doors leaving us alone in the prison center. The prisoner center became quiet, except for the sounds of humming that I could hear where I was, probably a generator or something.

In movies, video games or TV when the hero was captured by the enemy, the hero would find a way to escape from the enemy's stronghold to fight another day. Looking around again I tried to find some sort of loose wire, metal plate, an air vent so we could crawl to freedom of anything to find a way out of here... but life wasn't some TV show, movie or video game, this was the real world, there was no retry button, no load saved game or no clip anywhere, we were stuck in here until the guards return to kill us. For the longest time I sat there thinking about things that I wanted to do again, from spending time with my mom, sister and my Pokémon to being in my room playing video games.

 _"Where am I now... in that video game? Level 12 I believe... I'm a paragon now... quite a while until I reach the human reaper. That was a good game... watching movies in my room again, eating pizza and drinking soda..."_ Suddenly the lights shut off, not too much to be in complete darkness as the red light at the exit of the prison center flashed every second. The energy bars has shut off giving us a chance to escape, standing up I pointed at where the energy bars where.

"Everyone, c'mon let's go." Both Sakura and Isaac looked up at me as they noticed the energy bars were now gone. "Quick before the guards return." Isaac was helped up by Sakura as I ran towards the exit of the center. There were no guards or signs of anyone approaching so it looked like we were in the clear for now.

Leaving the prison center I was meet with a long corridor that would give us a huge disadvantage if armed guards appeared at the other end. Sakura and Isaac who was now standing without any help stood beside me as I waited near the door. Feeling as if the time was right we began to walk cautiously through the corridor hoping with each step that the door in front of us remained shut. the alarms from the other side of the door became louder as we drew near, it was as if the alarm were coming closer to us but to me it was like danger was just behind the door.

The door opened as we approached it, guess this blackout didn't shut off all of the power. On the other side we expected to see a guard or two or some kind of Pokémon blocking the way, but we didn't. Like the prison center this area was similar, a flashing red light every second. The area was larger than the prison center, multiple doors on both sides, one door in particular had a sign above it reading 'Security room'.

 _"Where there guards inside that room? Or was it empty inside?"_ Sakura and Isaac slowly walked near the door and waited for me. Walking beside them we entered together. The sounds of the alarm in the background muffled our footsteps so that was one of the advantages to entering without being heard.

The security room was filled with computers, filling cabinets and gun racks that contained a full set of guns like rifles and grenades. Luckily there were no guards so that was a relief for us and that our items and bags were here along with the device, but unfortunately the signal was blocked.

Looking inside of my bag to check if everything was still there, but one thing that caught my attention. "My money is gone!" 2000 PD was missing from my bag, and the apple that I placed in before we left Nimbasa was gone... damn it.

"My money is gone too." Sakura said after looking through her bag. "*sighs* about 1200 PD."

"Nothing for me. Let's just battle some enemies or two and we'll get our money back plus some EXP."

The gun locker was locked, not even a locker that was unlocked so there was no way for us to get a gun from here.

Leaving the security room we made our way towards another room opposite this one, we didn't bother checking the other rooms since we were trying to find our Pokémon. Now that I think about it I wondered what was inside those other doors, a treasure chest? a document? Regigigas or something like an optional boss fight? I guess I will never know.

The South section was where we found more activity in terms of more guards and 2 security drones. The security drones was a sphere-like head with a large propeller at the top. On the side of them was an assault rifle attached with a red laser sight on top searching around the room for intruders.

Both drones were scanning the corridor up and down whilst both of them were on opposite ends until they faced each other again. They flew past each other and searched the wall the other drone searched mirroring what each other does. The guards walked through the door closing it as they left the drones scanning the area nonstop. It was like the guards were walking around in some sort of pattern. The door on the other side of the corridor had the sign 'Computers' on the side. The room was in the middle of the corridor so we had to go when all 2 drones faced the wall and after the guards left the area.

The guards left the area and walked into the opposite room. The drones then flew towards the ends of the corridor scanning everything. All three of us ran to the middle of the corridor as fast as we could into the room, but inside the room was a man wearing a lab coat staring at us. This man was an annihilation scientist, Guard once told me that these guys are like the rooks of Annihilation... not sure what he meant by that.

"Intru-" Without thinking, my entire body moved on its own as if something else was controlling it, I ran as fast as I could towards the man reaching out for a button on the control panel in front of him, but luckily I pulled him away throwing him to the ground covering his mouth. Isaac and Sakura quickly helped me to sit him down on a wheeled chair.

The man was most likely in his early 30s, he had a short stubble with a small crescent like scar on his chin.

"This is an Annihilation laboratory, there are over 100 soldiers, drones and mechas within this building. Surrender yourselves now, peacefully and quietly and I'll see to it all three of you will get out of here with your lives."

 _"Okay... so how do I do this?" I_ stepped in front of him as I spoke to him as he now looked at me.

"Where are our Pokémon?" The man didn't say anything, only looking around the room then looking at both Sakura and Isaac holding him down.

"Oh, the prisoners... should've guessed it was you. Savior scum, you look young for a Savior member, kid. What are you a new recruit hm? Listen kid, The Saviors they are not the good guys in all of this battle they started. They are corrupted just like the government. Join Annihilation, kid, and you can finally be free of their control."

"Where are our Pokémon?" I repeated shaking more than before.

"West section, the place full of mechas and Elite members of Annihilation. By now those Pokémon are probably already dead. Dead is dead, can't bring 'em back to life, if you know what I mean." He chuckled, but not for long as Isaac struck him on the head with a fire extinguisher knocking the scientist out.

"Okay, West section, where about is that from here?" Sakura looked around the room for something, that is until I saw her look at a map on the wall. "'South section Labs 04' West section is just through the corridor on the left."

"What about this guy? We can't leave him like this. Someone could find him and attract the guards." Isaac asked before we looked around the room for a solution, until we found one.

We had tied him up with some duct tape that was hidden inside the desk side draw. We had found a closet large enough to hide him in and left the room towards West section. The drones we not present within the corridor this time, they must of been patrolling elsewhere along with the two guards from before.

Sneaking around the place was kind of difficult, especially in tight corridors that had limited visibility, we had to hide behind small cabinets, under tables, behind a tree or a plant. Luckily no one saw us hiding, the drones were the hardest to hide from since they scan everything they fly past, but we used the same hide, wait and run around them after they have left tactic.

We had been in the cells for the past 2 hours, no one had said a word or even whispered. Isaac has recently regained consciousness. The guard then gave us a bottle of water each, it was kind of warm water but still drinkable...barely. Isaac's head wound isn't that bad. Looking at the floor beneath me as I sat there on the cold hard metal floor, all I could think about was what Annihilation were going to do to us.

 _"What do I do? What do they want from us? M-maybe they'll let us go... Yeah, we are just young people going on a journey to-"_ That's when it hit me... my savior id card, I had it on me before we were imprisoned, they obviously knew who I was now. _"I'm as good as dead... not even a week into this job and I am already captured by the enemy. My life was fun while it lasted... Latias, Oshawott, Totodile, Chikorita... was I a good trainer for you? I wanted to do more things with you guys... I wanted for us to have a chance to do things friends usually do..."_

The radio on the guards chest beeped. He pressed the button on the side. "Guard 454 Prison center I read you."

"This is Squad E in the North section. The captain needs to speak to you." The guard then looked back at the cells then said, "I'm guarding some prisoners right now, can it wait?"

"Relax, they ain't getting out of there. Head on over to the North section ASAP. Out." The radio shut off as the guard began to walk towards the exit.

"*Sighs* making me do everything in this fucking rust bucket... all because I'm the new guy." He left through the automatic doors leaving us alone in the prison center. The prisoner center became quiet, except for the sounds of humming that I could hear where I was, probably a generator or something.

In movies, video games or TV when the hero was captured by the enemy, the hero would find a way to escape from the enemy's stronghold to fight another day. Looking around again I tried to find some sort of loose wire, metal plate, an air vent so we could crawl to freedom of anything to find a way out of here... but life wasn't some TV show, movie or video game, this was the real world, there was no retry button, no load saved game or no clip anywhere, we were stuck in here until the guards return to kill us.

For the longest time I sat there thinking about things that I wanted to do again, from spending time with my mom, sister and my Pokémon to being in my room playing video games.

 _"Where am I now... in that video game? Level 12 I believe... I'm a paragon now... quite a while until I reach the human reaper. That was a good game... watching movies in my room again, eating pizza and drinking soda..."_

Suddenly the lights shut off, not too much to be in complete darkness as the red light at the exit of the prison center flashed every second. The energy bars has shut off giving us a chance to escape, standing up I pointed at where the energy bars where.

"Everyone, c'mon let's go." Both Sakura and Isaac looked up at me as they noticed the energy bars were now gone. "Quick before the guards return." Isaac was helped up by Sakura as I ran towards the exit of the center. There were no guards or signs of anyone approaching so it looked like we were in the clear for now.

Leaving the prison center I was meet with a long corridor that would give us a huge disadvantage if armed guards appeared at the other end. Sakura and Isaac who was now standing without any help stood beside me as I waited near the door. Feeling as if the time was right we began to walk cautiously through the corridor hoping with each step that the door in front of us remained shut. the alarms from the other side of the door became louder as we drew near, it was as if the alarm were coming closer to us but to me it was like danger was just behind the door.

The door opened as we approached it, guess this blackout didn't shut off all of the power. On the other side we expected to see a guard or two or some kind of Pokémon blocking the way, but we didn't. Like the prison center this area was similar, a flashing red light every second. The area was larger than the prison center, multiple doors on both sides, one door in particular had a sign above it reading 'Security room'.

 _"Where there guards inside that room? Or was it empty inside?"_ Sakura and Isaac slowly walked near the door and waited for me. Walking beside them we entered together. The sounds of the alarm in the background muffled our footsteps so that was one of the advantages to entering without being heard.

The security room was filled with computers, filling cabinets and gun racks that contained a full set of guns like rifles and grenades. Luckily there were no guards so that was a relief for us and that our items and bags were here along with the device, but unfortunately the signal was blocked.

Looking inside of my bag to check if everything was still there, but one thing that caught my attention. "My money is gone!" 2000 PD was missing from my bag, and the apple that I placed in before we left Nimbasa was gone... damn it.

"My money is gone too." Sakura said after looking through her bag. "*sighs* about 1200 PD."

"Nothing for me. Let's just battle some enemies or two and we'll get our money back plus some EXP."

The gun locker was locked, not even a locker that was unlocked so there was no way for us to get a gun from here.

Leaving the security room we made our way towards another room opposite this one, we didn't bother checking the other rooms since we were trying to find our Pokémon. Now that I think about it I wondered what was inside those other doors, a treasure chest? a document? Regigigas or something like an optional boss fight? I guess I will never know. The South section was where we found more activity in terms of more guards and 2 security drones. The security drones was a sphere-like head with a large propeller at the top. On the side of them was an assault rifle attached with a red laser sight on top searching around the room for intruders.

Both drones were scanning the corridor up and down whilst both of them were on opposite ends until they faced each other again. They flew past each other and searched the wall the other drone searched mirroring what each other does. The guards walked through the door closing it as they left the drones scanning the area nonstop. It was like the guards were walking around in some sort of pattern. The door on the other side of the corridor had the sign 'Computers' on the side. The room was in the middle of the corridor so we had to go when all 2 drones faced the wall and after the guards left the area.

The guards left the area and walked into the opposite room. The drones then flew towards the ends of the corridor scanning everything. All three of us ran to the middle of the corridor as fast as we could into the room, but inside the room was a man wearing a lab coat staring at us. This man was an annihilation scientist, Guard once told me that these guys are like the rooks of Annihilation... not sure what he meant by that.

"Intru-" Without thinking, my entire body moved on it's own as if something else was controlling it, I ran as fast as I could towards the man reaching out for a button on the control panel in front of him, but luckily I pulled him away throwing him to the ground covering his mouth. Isaac and Sakura quickly helped me to sit him down on a wheeled chair.

The man was most likely in his early 30s, he had a short stubble with a small crescent like scar on his chin.

"This is an Annihilation laboratory, there are over 100 soldiers, drones and mechas within this building. Surrender yourselves now, peacefully and quietly and I'll see to it all three of you will get out of here with your lives."

 _"Okay... so how do I do this?" I_ stepped in front of him as I spoke to him as he now looked at me.

"Where are our Pokémon?" The man didn't say anything, only looking around the room then looking at both Sakura and Isaac holding him down.

"Oh, the prisoners... should've guessed it was you. Savior scum, you look young for a Savior member, kid. What are you a new recruit hm? Listen kid, The Saviors they are not the good guys in all of this battle they started. They are corrupted just like the government. Join Annihilation, kid, and you can finally be free of their control."

"Where are our Pokémon?" I repeated shaking more than before.

"West section, the place full of mechas and Elite members of Annihilation. By now those Pokémon are probably already dead. Dead is dead, can't bring em back to life, if you know what I mean." He chuckled, but not for long as Isaac struck him on the head with a fire extinguisher knocking the scientist out.

"Okay, West section, where about is that from here?" Sakura looked around the room for something, that is until I saw her look at a map on the wall. "'South section Labs 04' West section is just through the corridor on the left."

"What about this guy? We can't leave him like this. Someone could find him and attract the guards." Isaac asked before we looked around the room for a solution, until we found one.

We had tied him up with some duct tape that was hidden inside the desk side draw. We had found a closet large enough to hide him in and left the room towards West section. The drones we not present within the corridor this time, they must of been patrolling elsewhere along with the two guards from before.

Sneaking around the place was kind of difficult, especially in tight corridors that had limited visibility, we had to hide behind small cabinets, under tables, behind a tree or a plant. Luckily no one saw us hiding, the drones were the hardest to hide from since they scan everything they fly past, but we used the same hide, wait and run around them after they have left tactic.

We walked for a while after almost getting caught by some of the guards walking past us, we would've been caught if the locker wasn't big enough to fit three people inside. We could hear people talking from inside a small lab in front of us. We got a little closer to just right outside of the room to hear two people talk about the undead army Annihilation were using.

"200 have been shipped off to Area E19 yesterday, we'll send 28 more in an hour and we'll meet our quota for this week."

Inside the room were an Annihilation scientist typing something onto the computer in front of him. Leaning against the wall behind the scientist was a guard with arms crossed smoking with his helmet on the table beside him.

"Ya know, in that last batch we shipped off I think I recognized one of 'em, the zombie things." the scientist continued typing replied, "Who did you think it was?"

"Hmm... there was this girl who went to the same collage as me... Rebecca Monroe, she was a quiet girl most of the time but most of all cute. Wanted to ask her out a times myself. Do ya think she'll recognize me?"

"Impossible. All corpses have their memories wiped clean, we don't want them thinking about the past or have memories of anything irrelevant to the mission. They are only walking weapons not living beings. And besides, even if one of them did have memories of their previous life then they would most likely attempt to escape."

The scientist turned his chair to face the guard, "If you want to have some fun with it then be my guest, just don't expect me to look at you the same way again, fucking creep." He returned to facing the computer again with a smug look on his face. The guard chuckled.

"I ain't fucking a dead thing, man. Disgusting is what it is."

"Have you heard about the so-called failure the boss created?"

"Failure? What do you mean a failure?" *Gunfire* The guard and scientist were cut off after hearing gunfire coming from the room in front of us.

"Aw Fuck!" He put on his helmet and ran with his gun ready towards the shooting. The guard then ran towards the door, luckily we hid behind the wall as he ran past us and towards the door with gun fire.

"Gun fire? Do you think our Pokémon are in their?" Isaac said as looked up at the doors in front of him.

"C'mon, let's hurry and help them." Sakura grabbed a small potion out from her pocket as we both ran together to the door.

Past behind the door was a dark large room that stored vehicles and small cargo that appeared briefly when a flashlight shinned on it. On the right side of us were multiple Annihilation troopers shooting at a group of Pokémon, our Pokémon.

Latias was using a large protect shielding all Pokémon as she prevented any bullet of explosion from hitting them. Most of them were bleeding and in bad shape. Machinery was heard after the gunfire had ceased. It was a large black humanoid mecha using a large assault rifle like gun it it's hand as it aimed at the Pokémon and fired. It's eyes were glowing red and had lime green stripes on its body similar to veins.

"Hey! Over there! Shoot them!" One of the troopers shouted as the Mecha now shot at us. We quickly dodged out of the way by hiding behind one of the metal cargo boxes. Our Pokémon noticed us as we hid behind the cargo box, the troopers then began to shoot at the Pokémon once more as they got closer and closer to them.

"Hey!" Sakura shouted, "Use this Hyper Potion, Hurry!" She threw the potion at the Pokémon, Latias let it through the protect as Ampharos grabbed it and shared it with everyone recovering a good amount of everyone's HP. The wounds began to fade as the potion touch the wounds. Most Pokémon had their HP reach pass 50%, but Totodile and Growlithe only recovered no more than 30% of their HP.

"Ampharos, use Thunderbolt!" Isaac commanded as Ampharos sparkled as it charged and electrical current within its body and shot at the troopers as they fell to the ground after the thunderbolt hit all of the enemies but the mecha remained still standing slightly stunned as the electricity faded away.

The mecha then shot at our Pokémon again and used some kind of laser weapon at us that easily cut through the metal box as if it were tissue paper.

"Quite the power hm?" An Annihilation trooper stood at the top of the stairs with a pistol resting on his shoulder. "These Mecha's are expensive to develop and ship out for combat, because these babies are expensive is because of their high power and success rate. High laser power for cutting both flesh and matter as if it were nothing." He looked at the Mecha still standing and yelled, "Well go on, Shoot these sorry saps!"

The Mecha then began to shoot at the Pokémon again, the Annihilation trooper began walking at a normal pace towards us with his gun aimed at us. From closer inspection he wasn't wielding a normal pistol, instead he was wielding a magnum with a knife in his other hand.

"Saviors eh? Should've guessed that a Savior would be walkin' in on our turf! Ya listening kiddos?" He shouted making his way past the Mecha, "Saviors have no fuckin' right to be invading other peoples territories. Fucking leaches-" The trooper was cut off as he saw the Mecha was pushed on it's back after our Pokémon using a combined attack attacked it's leg causing the mecha to lose balance until it fell on a few fuel canisters placed beside the wall.

As soon as the mecha touched those canisters, there was a flash of light at first, then the loud explosion that quickly followed destroying it completely leaving behind large chunks of metal drenched in fuel that became aflame. The wall the fuel canisters were placed had been destroyed and left a huge gap in the wall, the sunlight finally entered inside this building for the first time. Most of the fire was on the wall with the rest on either the floor or some electrical equipment.

"No!" The old Annihilation member shouted in rage as he stumbled closer to the destroyed mecha. The blast caused his helmet to break away at the visors, so he removed it.

The man was bald and he wore an eye patch over his right eye. He had a beard that pointed down at his chin. His face had multiple scars around his face, possibly from previous battles or some kind of accident maybe.

"That mecha! They are expensive!" He faced the Pokémon this time and shot at them with his magnum. "I was going to get a raise, earn the money I needed to restore my home town that you bastards ruined! You fucking Saviors think you are special thinking you own Unova, that it is your playground for your little war games. Savior members deserve to die!" The trooper shouted as he moved closer to the Pokémon still protected by Latias' Protect, but the overuse of Protect during the attack from the mecha, and the blast had tired her out and the powerful shots fired at the protect was causing Latias to rapidly get tired, and it was only a matter of time before Latias and the Pokémon to become defenseless leaving them open for an attack.

Minccino suddenly used hyper voice towards the Annihilation trooper which caused him to drop his gun to the ground as he covered his ears. Latias stopped using Protect as she fell to the ground. The other Pokémon ran towards the trooper. Minccino also ran with the other Pokémon as each of them used an attack on the trooper noticing their approach as he sheathed his knife out.

Oshawott, Totodile and Marill combined their water gun attacks and hit the trooper in the face. The stream of water into this face gave him a massive disadvantage as the others attacked. Minccino used Pound against his leg causing him to collapse to the ground. Ampharos used Thunderbolt electrocuting him, but he didn't scream or make a noise after the attack hit him, he laid their as the electricity faded from his unconscious body.

 **20 Minutes later**

The police arrived after a phone call was made from one of the citizens near the bridge earlier. They always show up when the fighting is over... *sighs*.

The laboratory was one of many Annihilation labs the Saviors reported a few months ago after one of the spies leaked the information to us and how they were collecting more for the undead project.

Sakura, Isaac, our Pokémon and I waited near the drawbridge in route 5. Our Pokémon desperately needed to go to the Pokémon center to have their injuries treated. The Savior device turned on as I received a call from Lee.

"So, the kids stopped an Annihilation lab eh?" He smiled whilst eating a popsicle. "Heh, nice work kiddo. Stopping an Annihilation base reminds me of my younger years out into the field."

"The device wouldn't let me contact anyone while I was in there. Now that we are outside it's back to normal."

"Must be an indoor transmission blocker or... whatever it's called. Reason it wasn't used for outdoor use must've been because they didn't want anyone gettin' suspicious about their signals blocked. Anyway, our tech guys have been called in to look around the base for any hidden files or anything that could be used to locate their main base."

"Those scientists were talking about the corpses and how their memories are erased. Is this true?" I asked but Lee was immediately cut off by Dr Guard as he said,

"I can answer that."

"Hey old man! I got here first, so take a hick you son of a-"Lee's voice was heard on the device, Dr Guard typed something on his computer to mute Lee.

"Reanimated corpses; These creatures void of memory and thought are created by Annihilation. True you already know this but what we do not know is how they are created. We once captured a corpse intact and experimented on it for many things; Weakness, their regeneration abilities, weak but affective regeneration ability. They are immune to pain, lose limb, over a hundred bullets and yet they cease to fall. Annihilation consider them the perfect soldier."

"So, why do they have no memory or thought?"

"These walking corpses are not just military, they are civilians dug up from graves. In file 16 of the 'Annihilation Files - Weapons' they mentioned how thoughts and memories would distract them from their goals to kill and/or destroy. They also mentioned that there were a few of them that retained their memories and thoughts, Annihilation believed them to be failures. A while ago we tested one of our captured corpses to determine whether or not these things can remember who they were before death..." Dr Guard fell silent as he drank from his cup.

"Did they?"

"There was something about one of them we found. A human female, a young child around the age of 8. Her name was Molly Dawson. Both Molly and her parents decided to go on a vacation to Sinnoh. People believed this was a family just being a family, but what the family did to that young girl was a nightmare. For years they were cruel to their own daughter. The father and mother brought her to Sinnoh to kill her. They set up a plan to pretend a kidnapping so they could live a life without a child. The parents you see, they didn't want a child. Sick people like that, you ask why couldn't they just give her to another family... Well anyway, the parents were caught and sent to jail. Molly was then found by Annihilation and brought back to life as an undead monster. We caught her and she became silent for a few days, that is until we conducted 'Experiment 32-Memories'. We showed her pictures of her life such as locations and her toys she most likely played with. But upon showing her a photo of her parents, she screamed very, very loudly as she attempted to grab the photo. We believed at first this was just a random attempt to break free from the chains, but 20 out of 20 times she always went for the photo of her parents. When we didn't have a photo of them she became silent."

"What happened to her?"

"We put her down," He sighed, "It wasn't right for her to be left like that. Zack, If you can, find and shut down an Annihilation lab if you ever find one. Abominations like that should not be allowed to exist any longer."

Dr Guards face disappeared as Lee's became clear with the sound button returning back to normal.

"Ugh... can't believe that chrome-dome hacked my computer again..." He muttered under his breath burying his face down on the desk, he got up after noticing anyway, I was going to tell you that when you arrive in Driftveil you are your allies are on a 24 hour break after your recent takedown on that lab. Clark just informed me of it so kick up a few legs a rest up... wait a sec! is that how it goes? 'Kick up a leg'? What am I talking about here?"

"Thanks, Our Pokémon do need a rest after that last battle."

"Got it, Lee out." he gave a thumbs up before the screen faded to black.

The device shut off leaving me with the others. Just as I was about to put the device back in the bag I noticed Latias resting her head on my lap as she closed her eyes. I stroked her behind the ears as she purred and blushed red that almost matched her the red of her feathers.

To be continued...

Trivia:

The battle with the mecha was originally a battle with an undead corpse the trio had to defeat that went rampage within the building.


	13. Chapter 13 Skull and crossbones

**AU: This chapter was much longer in the first draft being about 5k. Damned computer caused me to retype the chapter again as well as a few others... good times(!)**

Chapter 13 - Skull and crossbones

As we arrived at the pokemon center we checked in to get a room and heal our pokemon. In Driftveil's pokemon center there is this 'Shower your pokemon' thing that helps improve your friendship with your pokemon and clean them up at the same time.

The shower wasn't anything different from a normal human sized one, other than the tap handles had pokeball images on them, red for hot and blue for cold. Isaac's pokemon didn't want to get a shower so they just rested on their own separate beds while Isaac watched the other pokemon being washed.

Oshawott whilst washing his arms watched as Minccino was rinsing her own tail with some gel Sakura gave to her. Latias who was laying down on her belly next to me as the water soaked her entire body as she playfully splashed the water on the tiled floor at the wall, but she never splashed the water on me or anyone else, i thought at the time she would do that.

After that shower we left our pokemon at the center whilst me, Sakura and Isaac wandered around the city for a while to catch some fresh air. From the looks of them, most of the pokemon seemed tired after the shower they had. _"Don't want to tire them out, maybe we should stay and rest here for a day or two."_ As we left, Totodile hadn't gone asleep yet, Totodile was walking around the rest area trying to figure out how to have some fun alone.

"Throw a ball at the wall and try to catch it until i drop it? Nah. Wake the others up, try to get them to play for a few minutes?" Totodile looks back at the sleeping pokemon. "I'll let 'em sleep, even if i did wake 'em up they'll just shout and complain at me... *sighs*" Totodile picks up a clean sock someone left in the room, it was a black sock with a red star on the heel. Totodile throws it back on the floor finding it of no interest to him. "Maybe i could get some sleep and... dream about falling to my death again... double Nah." Suddenly, Totodile hears a voice from the outside of the room. Totodile quickly ran over to the door and peeked out to find a man wearing a black trench coat and boots on a phone to someone.

"They have already left the building, how should i proceed?" Totodile listens in as the man stops where he is and leans against the wall listening in to the voice on the other side of the phone. Totodile sighing believes this to be nothing of importance and leaves to go rest up. "Understood sir, i'll eliminate them now." Totodile stops as he heard the word 'eliminate', "'Eliminate?' Eliminate what? That man mentioned someone had already leaving the building... Zack?"

Totodile quickly runs up to the other pokemon shouting at them to wake up gaining the attention of 7 of them, Oshawott, Latias, Chikorita, Ampharos, Minccino, Marill and Yamask. "Guys, there's a man outside, he was on the phone and he said he was going to eliminate Zack and the others!" Chikorita sighs and lays back down on the bed "Who... cares..." What Chikorita said irritated the others, but knowing chikorita they didn't have time to argue. "Are you sure that man mentioned Zack?" Latias asked as she removed the bed sheets and levitated slowly to Totodile. Totodile nodded as all of them made for the door and towards the exit of the center.

As the 7 pokemon walking through the streets, they gained the attention of many people watching the group walk together. Some people believed them to be wild pokemon wandering the streets whilst others thought them to be searching for their trainers. Oshawott noticing one old man that irritated him asks out loud "Why are they starring at us this long?" Yamask levitating behind the group just waved at everyone, even getting up close to one bystander and wave close to their faces.

Totodile then notices something at the corner of his eye standing near the gym, it is the same man who he heared talking about eliminating. "That's him." All of the pokemon looked directly at him but not for too long not wanting to gain suspicion from the man. "Did anyone see a weapon or any pokeballs on his belt at all?" Ampharos asked picking up some small rocks and dropping them continuously. All shook their heads as they watched the man leave the area to walk into an alley at the back of a store away from the crowd. "C'mon!" Oshawott said as they ran after the man. Latias however turned invisible after she went on ahead to look for the man from high above. As she searched the alley, she found the man climbing up the ladder of the building's rooftop where a suitcase was located behind a vent. Latias watches as the man opens the case and assembles the pieces inside to form a rifle. Latias panics at this and rushes down to the others and alerts them that the man has a rifle. Yamask then picks up Oshawott and Minccino and carries them to the roof to stop him whilst Ampharos climbs up the ladder with Marill on her back. Latias carries Totodile as she joins the others on the roof hiding behind a nearby vent.

The man lies on his stomach and grabs the rifle and loads it up, suddenly, Yamask attacks using Shadow ball, the attack almost hits him as he rolls over and aims his gun at the vent and fires, Latias quickly uses Protect as the pokemon run towards him. The man then throws small orbs high up black in color but not pokeballs. The two orbs then form into 2 drones that fire silenced small bullets at them. The man however grabs the rifle and attempts once more to aim his weapon at the target. Oshawott using his sclachop deflects most of the bullets but is hit losing a small amount of HP everytime he is hit, the same goes for the others attempting to get close to the man.

Ampharos uses Thunderbolt at one of the drones inflicting a lot of damage on it, but the drone shoots at her, but luckily she evades it. Totodile uses Water gun on the drone ampharos attacked and is destroyed. The pokemon then hear the gun firing and screams that followed soon after. Yamash uses Shadow ball at the drone destroying it leaving the pokemon an opening to tackle the man. The man manages to stand up quickly and grabs a handgun out from his gun holster and shoots at the pokemon as they quickly approach him. As the man is then tackled by the pokemon, he is then knocked out as all pokemon are now safe, but as they remembered that the man shot his gun at the crowd below, all of them look down from the rooftop to see who was shot.

Meanwhile as i had separated from Isaac and Sakura as they entered a nearby bookstore on herbs, i found a store named 'Egg-citing Starts'...yeah and i'm not kidding about that. The store from a notice board on the outside read 'All eggs are 1 week from hatching, eggs with 2-3 days are now half price until friday.' Seeing as though i had nothing else to do i thought "may as well have a look inside." As i entered the store.

The store was kind've dark, and the smell, it smelt like wet paint which was odd seeing how the doors, wall, floor and ceiling was all made of wood, "must be some painting done in the other room behind the counter." There were several different colored eggs all on different shelves, some patterns i recognized, others i didn't. Some eggs were very small to the size of a head and others doubled in size, possibly the larger pokemon were inside them.

"Greetings young man, and welcome to my store." I looked to the counter to find an elderly woman as she stood there smiling, now that think about it, i never heard her enter from the door behind the counter. "Please feel free to look around, and if you are interested on making a purchase please come and tell me."

Looking around the store, i noticed that some of the eggs were moving slightly, i wondered at the time where these pokemon eggs came from and how their parents must've given them up. After wandering around the store for about 5 minutes i noticed a medium sized white egg with a blue feather symbol in the center, at the time i believed this egg to be a tailow or a pelipers egg and wanted a bird type pokemon on my team. The price tag was about 6000PD, thankfully i had enough and asked the lady that this was the egg i had wanted.

After leaving the store i placed the egg in my bag i heard a gunshot from nearby, people screaming soon followed as i ran over to the crowded people gathering around something, as the people moved around int he crowd i caught the sight of a man lying on the ground, blood was see pouring from his head obviously shot in the head.

As the police arrived, they arrested the man responsible for the killing, he was known as an assassin nicknamed Death, once he is hired to kill a target, he makes it his top priority to kill that target no matter what as his slogan was 'Death will find you.'. Death was revealed to be hired by Team Annihilation after the Savior member who knew the location of the main base. The man killed was named Jason Sanders, he was a rank 4 spy and had been searching for the base for the past 2 years. The police when arriving at the roof found pokemon holding him down as they came to arrest him. As i was hugged by Latias, Oshawott and Totodile, i learned from Oshawott with the help of Isaac who told me that Totodile heard the man talk about eliminating someone from inside the center and got most of the others to stop the man believing that the target Death was going to kill was Zack and the others.

After congratulating them we walked back to the center where i revealed to the group that i had bought a pokemon egg earlier. "Wow, i wonder what pokemon is inside." Sakura said amazed at the egg as she felt how warm it was. "Once a female pokemon is pregnant, it takes them two to three months to lay an egg or more. After that, the egg takes 2 weeks to hatch." Isaac knelt down beside Sakura. Chikorita stayed in the bed and didn't budge an inch when we entered or talked about the egg. Growlithe was wide awake as he watched from the bed as we gathered around the egg and placed it on one of the beds besides Ampharos'

Meanwhile outside of driftveil city police department (DCPD) Death was still in the police car after killing both police officers by strangulation and neck breaking. The officers before death believed him to be still knocked out and didn't possess any threat to them so they had no bars or anything to separate the driver and the prisoner. As Death leaves the car he begins to walk out of the city and calls his contractor, "Sir, i was captured during the assassination, but i killed the man before i was captured." Death listens as the man ont he other line says he has another mission for him if he would like. "Mistralton hm?" Death stops in his tracks and stretches his arms before answering, "Fine, but this time i need some supplies, take it out of my next payment cause i am not doing this mission without them." As the man on the other line says who the target is, Death replies, "The mayor? Understood, i will call again as soon as i reach mistralton." Death then hangs up and places the phone back into his coat and walks out of the city into the dark forest,

To be continued...

 **Trivia:**

This chapter is slightly based off the original version only that the assassin was never named and his target was a celebrity who had hired the Saviors to help her.


	14. Chapter 14 Gang Wars

**AN: Got the idea for this chapter from a moment in a very old game i played as a kid once, shadow hearts or something. Something with gangs and Alcatraz prison... not sure though.**

Chapter 14 - Gang wars

It was around 8PM it happened, Isaac was walking around driftveil by himself as he needed some fresh air, or so he told us.

" _The police are still here, probably still cleaning up after the assassination... a savior member from what Zack said."_ As Isaac walked through the quiet streets, he noticed a young woman in her late 20s running out of a street crying, she was wearing a blue dress and carrying a strapped purse with her. _"A woman, Why is she crying?"_ The woman notices Isaac and runs up to him causing him to tense up. The crying woman still crying utters under her breathe, "P-please... *sobs* you have to help me!"

Back at the saviours, Isaac returned with the young woman that calmed down as she sat down, the woman was named Leanne and her brother not too long ago was kidnapped by some people in suits.

"Saviors? Yes, i know who they are." Leanne said as she wiped away her tears. "Please, my brothers name is David, he isn't a bad person, i can't understand why anyone would want to hurt him."

"Where about did this happen?" I asked, "The kidnapping?" Leanne looked up and replied, "T-he warehouse district, i'll show you where it happened." As we got up and left the center, i couldn't help notice that something nearby was watching us. Looking over at the crime scene, silly as it was i thought that a ghost was watching us.

As we were getting closer to the warehouse district, all of us remained silent causing an awkward silence between us. Oshawott on my shoulder started to hum a little, but stopped as Leanne looked back. The alley she took us to was full of trash and old boxes, As i stepped closer i looked around to find any clue or something, that is until i heard the sound of a click from behind. Looking back i saw two men in suits with handguns both aimed at Isaac and Sakura, "Don't even think about it kid, step towards us and your friends won't get hurt." The man said to the left of Leanne who didn't seem to be fazed by any of the men. The man on her right then asked, "Are you sure this kid is a savior? He's too young to be one." Leanne smiled and replied to the man, "He's defiantly a savior member, i saw his id badge back at the center." Leanne then grabbed a handgun from her purse and cocked it. "Now, come with us and no one dies."

We cooperated with her and followed or they lead us to their hideout located within the warehouse district. As the two armed men lead us inside, they stopped us in the center of the large area. Inside the warehouse from where i could see were large storage boxes almost everywhere, i probably would've seen more if more of the lights were turned on, but only one light remained on. In front of us was a large armchair with someone sitting on it but had his back turned to us. As we were stopped by the two men, Leanne walked up to the man sitting down and whispered something to him.

The man sitting on the chair turned his chair to look at us, the man appeared young, early 30s probably, perhaps younger. He wore a blood red suit with a black tie. His long black hair was tied down and his beard covered most of his scars around his mouth area. "Greetings Savior, forgive my manners, but i saw no other way to get you to this warehouse of mine without being spotted." The man cleared his throat as he crossed his legs. "My name is Drake and i ask of you to help me with a problem that i have."

Drake looked at both of us as he started, "This is my gang you see here, i started it when i was about your age, probably older." Drake looked at his watch attacked to his wrist, "When i was young, my friend and i started out together. We started to run the streets and formed our very own gang. One day as we reached adulthood our rival gang boss wanted to give us a chance to move up in the world." Drake removes a revolver out from his suit. "He said tot he both of us, 'Do you two want to either live or die?' we obviously told him to live, he then showed us this revolver and threw it to the both of us, he told us to play the game of Alola Roulette. In this game he said to shoot at themselves in the head until either one of us was shot. The last one alive would move up in the ranks." Drake aims the gun at his head, "I aimed the gun at my head first and fired, sighed as i did i gave the gun to Clive as he did the same, and did you know what happened?" Drake puts the gun back in his suit, "The gun fired killing Clive right then and there. If none of us played that game we would've been punished of cause. Punished with losing all those we hold dear to us by an unfortunate accident."

Drake looks up again and smiles, "Now, i will give all of you a task, a simple one, but an easy one and then you can go. We would've gave this mission to the other savior member but he was killed earlier today."

Drake then pointed as the man with a small box approached us and handed us it. "Inside that box is a small cake i want you to deliver personally to my brother Leroy who has been imprisoned within Driftveil Prison. The cake i a coconut cake, his favourite kind and tell him that Leanne sent it to him saying she will come and see him soon. If Leroy asks who gave you the mission, say it was Leanne, not me."

"What makes you think we will do this mission for you? What is stopping us from going to the police?" Drake shakes his head slightly, "Because i have trained... uh, agents following you, they will kill you should you decide to use a phone or that saviours device. I want you to sneak into the prison and hand the cake over to him and leave. Enter and leave like a shadow."

Drake then ordered his men to show us the way back to the center, they also gave us a map of the prison, where to find his cell, how to enter the prison and patrol rotas. The location to enter the prison is the drainage tunnel that can be accessed from a tunnel near the cliff side they marked on the map.

"Are we really going to go through with this? Sneak into a prison to give some guy a cake?" Isaac asked as he lightly scratched his head. "If we are caught, perhaps we could explain to the guards what is happening and get help that way?" We stayed in palce for about a couple of minutes all thinking of ways to get out of it. In the end we went along with it and would report them when we entered the prison and leave like nothing happened and hope they won't notice anything.

Climbing down the cliff was annoying to get to the pipe, we thought about getting a rope about halfway down, talk about timing. As we entered the pipe we had to use the flashlight to walk through and Oshawott had to use razor shell on some gates that blocked us from progressing any further. As we walked through the tunnel, we eventually found a door. According to the map this would lead us to the laundry area, no one would be here according to the instructions, _"Wonder why they didn't do this themselves?"_ i thought out as i read the entire thing.

As Sakura opened the door, like the instructions said, no one was here, but that didn't mean we could let our guard down. We moved silently out of the laundry room after looking at the map. Leroy was located within Block A1 which was about north of here after passing the cafeteria. The guards on patrol of that area should be about 5 of them so if we moved carefully we can pass undetected.

Driftveil prison gave off a cruel and disgusting scent, it was cold and the air felt so dirty, it's a good thing i chose the good path, not a criminal life. We walked past the stained tables with crude etchings of symbols and names to vague to even remember.

As we reached Block A1, the lights were dimmed slightly but the gaurds room was brightly lit. Looking inside were 2 guards, all sitting on chairs watching tv. Leroy was located on the 6th cell, it was a good thing Leroy wasn't held up in a larger area surrounded by other inmates, one or more of them would've seen us and yelled or caused so much noise that the guards would investigate the noise.

We crouched down as we approached the first cell, peeking around the corner the inmate was already asleep so we could easily get past him without causing any trouble. The next two cells both inmates inside were awake, one was looking outside the cell window away from the cell bars allowing us a quick passage, as for the other, the inmate was throwing a ball up in the air continuously catching it every time. He wasn't much of a problem, we had to be careful in case one of them saw us, we even had an emergency plan should we be seen by an inmate or two, get Latias to use psychic on one of the inmates and knock them out. The other two inmates were already asleep; one of them was having a dream probably from the way he muttered something in his sleep.

As we reached Leroy's cell, he was playing a game of chess by himself, he had a black beard and no hair, he seemed exhausted and his eyes looked darker, probably from the lack of sleep. As we approached his cell he looked up and stood. "Excuse me, are you Leroy?" I asked him as he walked closer to the cell bars. "Yes i am, who are you?" i then grabbed the small box from my bag and gave him it as he opened it, "I'm a savior member, we were tasked to give you this cake." Leroy didn't look pleased as he saw the cake, it was like he was disgusted by it as he placed the cake on the table near the chessboard. "Who gave you this?" he demanded keeping his voice low not wanting to alert the guard or the other inmates. "L-Leanne, s-she..." i stopped, _"Why am i lying? I should just- wait! Why did Drake tell me to say it was Leanne who gave the cake to him? Could it be that the cake is poisoned or some kind of explosive?"_

Lying to this man wasn't right, but before i could say anything Leroy spoke, "Let me guess, Leanne didn't give you this cake to give me? It was Drake, the bastard."

"Before i was incarcerated within Driftveil prison me and Leanne argued about how things should run between the gangs. Leanne is my sister and my gang are based past the city's bridge. My sisters gang or should i say Drake's gang and my own do not trust one another and have attacked sometimes but not frequently. Drake offered to co-exist with our gang by inviting me and a few others to his base to have dinner, but this plot was a ruse to inform the police that i was there and at the time the most wanted man in driftveil." Leroy sits down on a chair as he brings it closer to the cell bars. "My gang after that stunt want to kill Drake and his gang, but i don't want my sister involved." Leroy looks up at us and pleads, "Please, save my sister, i know she seems like a terrible person but she doesn't want to be there with Drake, please save her."

As the trio reach the laundry room, Isaac asks, "So what do we do? Is Leroy right about Leanne not wanting to be in that gang? From the looks of it she seemed to fit in with them." Isaac crosses his arms, "If we go back, Drake could kill us. We have to tell the police about this." All of us nodded as we left the laundry room and exited through the tunnel. The climb up the cliff wasn't as bad as climbing down it.

As we ran we pretended to head straight for the warehouse district but immediately we ran for the center and called for the police as we used the phone. Latias, Ampharos and Marill were on the lookout as the phone call to the police went through. We explained to them that Drake the gang leader was located within the warehouse district. After that we ran towards the warehouse were we faced Drake looking pleased to see us return.

"So... did you deliver the present to Leroy?" but before i could answer he held his hand up, "Forget about that nonsense, you have a Latias, impressive." Latias was levitating near me using Protect on all of us in case of a random gang member attacked. "Tell ya what kid, you give me that Latias and i'll give you 500,000 PD how about it?" Immediately i shouted to him, "No!" Drake then grabs the revolved from his suit and fires two rounds at us but the Protect stops any bullet from hitting us. Drake then orders the other gang members to attack us armed with wrenches, shovels and daggers.

Isaac then orders Ampharos to use Thunderwave at the incoming gang members, some became paralyzed but only temporarily. Marill used Bubble beam that surprisingly injured two gang members, i always thought that move did nothing and those attacked were just overreacting to the attack. As the gang members approached the Protect surrounding us, they attacked furiously as they attempted to breach it. Latias' protect held for quite a while, but Latias couldn't hold on for too long as the attacks continued. If it weren't for the others defending the Protect with their moves then Latias wouldn't have held out any longer.

Finally after the last gang member was defeated by Marills bubble beam, Latias stopped using protect as she took a breath slightly exhausted but got ready just in case another attack should occur. Drake standing next to Leanne with his revolver above his head glares at us, "4 shots... 4 shots left. I could easily take you all out if it weren't for that bitch!"

Remembering what Leroy said about saving his sister from Drake, i called out to her, "Leanne! Leroy in the prison told us that you don't have to stay with Drake, he knows that you are being used by Drake." Leanne smiles and laughs, "Leroy believes that i-gasps" Drake grabs Leanne by her hair and shouts at her, "Back off! You move and i'll blow her head off!" Drake ordered as he aimed the gun at her head, Leanne trying to break free from his grips shouts, "Drake! Let go of me you psychopath!"

"Drake, put your gun down!" i ordered, but Drake refused to cooperate. Drake's finger was slowly squeezing the trigger as he continued to pull Leanne by the hair.

Suddenly the gun from Drakes hand exploded as he knelt to the floor gasping in pain. Leanne now free slapped him across the face multiple times until she backed away from him crying. The gun exploding was because of Latias, her not using protect allowed her to use Psychic surrounding Drakes hand caused it explode not hurting Leanne in the process. Drake's hand was damaged pretty badly, some of his fingers were cut off while others had their bones disjointed. Latias whom i noticed inch closer to the ground had collapsed after using psychic. After returning her to her pokeball the police arrived late as usual and questioned us about who we were and why we are here.

Leanne was arrested but she didn't spend longer than two months behind bars. After she was released i heard she moved to Hoenn, the same with Leroy after he was bailed and fled the city. Drake's gang was also imprisoned but only for 4 years. Drake however after getting his hand treated found out he would receive 10 years in prison. Drake after prison time was harassed by families of the victims attempted to get Drake back in prison, but Drake fled the region never to be seen again. Leroy's gang disbanded and there were no gangs within Driftveil city anymore.

To be continued...

Trivia:

This is one of many chapters in the story that were originally from the original story.


	15. Chapter 15 The Egg Hatches

**AN:I know this chapter was short, but i promise the future chapters will be much longer than this one. I am trying to get around 4k or more words per chapter. Until next time.**

Chapter 15 - The egg hatches

As the morning arrived, all three of us woke up and got changed to go down stairs. We meet out poekmon at the cafeteria as they ate their food, small pieces of pokemon food, pokepuffs and a few berries and fruit shared amongst themselves. As for us, we ate some cereal and a few slices of toast (non-buttered) with a glass of water each. The radio within the cafeteria was switched on, it played a few music selections of top ten best selling singles of the month and a few commercials about upcoming events and sales within the Unova region, to my annoyance they also mention the Egg-citing store, all eggs are now half price.

As we left the city to mistralton, first we had to pass route 6 and the chargestone cave. Before leaving the city we asked about the cave for instance; how dangerous it is, type of pokemon commonly seen... zubats. We also found out that chargestone cave had been the location for a unique pokemon there, a giant pokemon larger than the regular ones, what this pokemon was they didn't tell us.

We walked for about 5 minutes through the route, not once did we see a random trainer stand still looking in the same direction for hours waiting for someone to walk in front of them, stops them and battles them to a pokemon battle without asking the trainer if they would like to battle instead of immediately starting one. Yep, it was a quiet until i noticed the bag was shaking slightly, looking down i opened the bag to find that the egg inside was slightly cracking.

"Hey, the egg is hatching!" i announced as i gently placed the bag down on the ground and knelt beside it. Sakura and Isaac knelt down gathering around the egg as it moved slightly, all of us were silent as the egg shells broke apart and fell to the floor. As the egg finally opened up, we were amazed to see what the pokemon was from the inside, it was a baby Lugia a legendary pokemon. Legendary pokemon were very rare to come by, but an egg containing one was even rarer, i was even considering going back to that egg store and ask the old woman where she got this from.

I then used the saviours device to contact Lee about Lugia's as he calls himself a walking pokedex. Lee answered the call sitting in the cafeteria from the looks of it, "Hello again Zack, how can i help?"

"Lee, what do you know of the pokemon Lugia?" i asked him as he drank something from his cup. "Lugia eh? Hmm, Lugia can be found within the Johto region, most can be seen near the Whirl islands. Lugias are commonly known as the 'Guardian of the skies' they are a psychic and flying type. Lugia interacting with people is rare, but in many cultures meeting with a lugia is supposed to bring luck. A lugias diet consists on mostly fruits and berries but on rare occurrences they have been seen eating magikarps by swallowing them whole." Lee cleared his throat and asked me why i brought up Lugias all of a sudden, i turned the device around to show Lee the Lugia still in the bag as it opened its eyes looking around.

"What!?" Lee exclaimed as he got up from his seat, "t-th-that's a, an actual Lugia! Where did you get that?" I explained to Lee where i got the egg from, the name of the store and the city, lee explained to me that the farms were the egg sellers retrieve them from breed the pokemon there. Most of the pokemon let their offspring want them to have a good life and all, some however stay with their parents until either maturity or they stay within the farm to help out breeding with other pokemon.

"Be careful with Lugia, Zack. Since you're carrying 2 legendaries with you, people might become jealous of your team." Lee then wished me luck as the device shut off. Lugia watched as Sakura reached out her hand and stroked its head. We decided to sit down off the path feed Lugia before moving on, lee also mentioned that it was alright to put Lugia in a pokeball, but should let it out every few hours so that it can get used to being inside one. Lugias pokeball an ultra was chosen, i had been given this ball by the old lady from the egg store after purchasing Lugia's egg.

Lugia had been given a few oran berries to feed on before placing it inside the ball. The others helped to ease lugia down by petting it and showing it items they found like fallen leaves it picked up and dropped occasionally, small pebbles, acorns, and rolling the oran berries on the grass.

Grabbing the Ultra ball from my bag i looked at Lugia and said, "Lugia, i'm going to put you inside the pokeball for a little while. It'll be alright." Lugia didn't seem to mind it but watched as my hand with the ultra ball touched its nose and Lugia was engulfed in a red light and taken inside the ball. The ball then began to shake until the ball made a clicking noise that confirmed lugia accepted the catch. I then released Lugia from outside of the ball as it appeared confused slightly.

"Cinno. Minccino no" Minccino walked up to Lugia and from Isaac's translation he said that Minccino talked to Lugia and explained to it about pokeballs and that it shouldn't worry about being in them as it takes some time to get used to being inside them. Lugia after listening to Minccino seemed to understand. Lee also mentioned that when a pokemon hatches from the egg its communication after hatching take about a few weeks to speak, faster than humans, there intelligence after birth increases overtime from learning things much faster than the average human. Lugia then returned inside the ball and so all of us got up and began walking down route 6.

As we finally reached Chargestone cave we were greeted by a young woman, she was a researcher that spent a few months within the chargestone cave. "Chargestone cave has been the location of a giant Zubat that has been sighted by many travellers recently. Many people have said it was a golbat, but after a traveller took a picture of the Pokémon it confirmed that the giant Zubat was real." The researcher then gave us 3 free repels we could use to ward away any pokemon.

As we entered the cave we immediately used the repels after hearing a few zubats nearby. The repels lasted for about 10 minutes, they didn't smell, but Oshawott and Minccino seemed to gag as they smelt it so we both returned them to their pokeballs.

The cave from what i remember was slightly damp, dark if it weren't for small holes around the cave's walls and ceiling illuminating throughout cave. I remember before leaving Nuvema town when i was about 9 or maybe 10 that i watched an interesting video about this exact cave and its history. Deep within the cave are fossils and tablets left by an ancient civilitation long ago. The tablets though mostly stories about legendary pokemon detailed their appearance and behaviour. Researchers do not understand why these people left the tablets within the cave or why there is only tablets and nothing else, not even a tool.

As we finally reached the end of the caves exit we saw the light from the outside and walked faster towards the exit. But we were attacked by many zubats, the repels effect had already expired. Sakura and Isaac sent out their pokemon, Marill and Growlithe to defeat the Zubats blocking our way. I sent out Totodile as all of us attacked many Zubats and defeating them by one, by 5 and sometimes by 10 in a row. But now matter how many we defeated, it seemed as if we were not doing anything to stop the Zubats from attacking.

"Look!" Sakura exclaimed as she pointed out withint he large group of Zubats were a larger Zubat, it was the giant Zubat, no difference in color but only size. Most of the zubats used a combination of moves such as Bite, screech and drain. Isaac then commanded to use ember on the giant Zubat but the regular Zubats defended the larger one as if it were its leader or something.

The giant Zubat then attacked Marill with Airslash but missed hitting the wall instead, that's when it happened, and that is when the ceiling started to collapse. "C'mon let's get out of here!" i shouted as we ran out of the cave not noticing that the zubats fled back towards the cave. As we had escaped the cave, all we could hear from the outside was the rocks falling to the ground until finally silence.

As for the zubats we didn't know what had happened to them. "Is everyone alright?" Sakura asked, all of us nodded, but some of our pokemon had lost a lot of HP so we had to get them to the pokemon center within mistralton city just past the small road up ahead. 

Meanwhile from the top of Chargestone cave, a large amount of Zubats and a giant Zubat merged out from the hole that caved in not too long ago and flew up high in the sky and then towards the north of Unova to find a new settlement to live in.

To be continued...

Trivia:

The egg Lugia was in was originally a reward for the previous mission from the saviors and not something to purchase at the store.


	16. Chapter 16 Assassins

Chapter 16 - Assassins

Upon arriving in Mistralton, we had checked in to the center to heal up our pokemon. Sakura and Isaac are feeding their pokemon and i stayed in the reception thinking about calling mom and Yuri. Suddenly my saviors device beeped from my bag. After taking it out i notice that it was Reiko who was calling, accepting the call Reiko appeared on screen in the room where i first met her.

"Hi Zack, how are you?" she seemed cheerful, but her eyes somehow, it was like she was crying for how red they were. I decided not to pry into it, "I'm good, i suppose Lee told you about me having a new addition to my team." Reiko smiled as she nodded, "Lugia, pretty rare. I would love to see it when you get back."

"Of cause." I replied as Reiko grabbed a document from her side and began, "Clark told me and a few others to tell other Savior members that side missions are available for extra money and a chance to increase your ranks. How about it? Interested?"

I had to think about it, _"Side missions...? yeah, i could use the extra cash. And besides, i may get a rank up if i accept most of them."_ Facing Reiko on the device i accepted it. "Excellent, i'll forward the assignment to your device, from there you can read up about it. Good luck Zack,"She smiled as the device shut off. I then received an email from Reiko;

From-Reiko Stone

To-Zack Raines

Subject: Side Missions No.447 – Mistralton City

Greetings Zack Raines, your mission today is to speak to the mayor of Mistralton city Leonard Adams about a dangerous pokemon sighted withint he city killing 3 people (possibly more). Your mission will be complete as soon as the problem is resolved.

Once again, good luck on your first side mission Zack.

XXX

Location-Mistralton City Airport

Mission Difficulty-Normal

Reward-4200 PD and either Elixir or Full heal

As i got up i checked up on Isaac and Sakura if they wanted to come with me. Sakura said she would catch up later after she checked up on her pokemon first. Isaac said he would restock on items and would check on his pokemon as well, so it was just me alone walking through the city, with the exception of Latias following behind.

As we walked through the city, the sounds of the air planes could be heard above the city. The city even though loud was less populated than Castelia city. The stores sold potions, camping equipment and various books. "Lah!" Latias stopped me and pointed at a book that was being sold in a book store. As Latias dragged me closer to the book she pointed out to, it was the same Latias from the tv show she enjoyed, Super Latias. It was an information book detailing the Latias, her character bio, locations and other various characters seen throughout the story plus a few extras at the end about characters and locations that never appeared or were deleted because of time. The book was 1000PD, seeing as how Latias seemed to be looking at the air planes fly instead of the book, i assumed she wasn't interested in it and so i began to walk towards the airport but was stopped by Latias as she tugged on my bag strap and pointed back to the book again. With a sigh i picked up the book and purchased it.

Latias levitated alongside me as she read the contents of the book. It was a large book, it was only a thousand pages worth, and half of the pages were illustrations and art work of the characters and locations. From where i was, i couldn't tell if she was reading the words in the book or just looking at the pictures.

As we arrived at the airport, many people were going in and out, travellers from all over the world passed through these doors every day. Accents I recognized from Kalos, Kanto and even a few I wasn't familiar with. After finally making it past the large crowd and making sure Latias wasn't pushed back along with them i noticed a man wearing a black suit with the piece of cardboard with name on it 'Raines'. Approaching the man i told him that i was Zack Raines and showed him my Saviors id. The man placed the cardboard under his arm and looked at the id; he then looked back at me and at Latias who was still reading from the book. The man sighed and said "Okay, you'll do. I'll take you to him."

We entered the elevator, it was large enough to carry 16 people, Latias myself and the man in the suit took half of the space _. "Maybe i should return Latias for now."_ Looking over at the man he didn't seem concerned about Latias. As we reached the 2nd floor of the airport, the planes were seen outside of the large window that nearly covered the wall. Bookshelves and sculptures of pokemon and model air planes were on both sides of the walls. In front of the window was a desk and chair where a man was sitting and stood up as he noticed us enter. The man in his late 40s wore black glasses, thinning hair and wore a buttoned blue shirt and brown sleeveless sweater. His pants were black and from where i was just as i entered the room, his pants were stained with a brown substance, probably coffee.

"Hello, you must be the Savior member i was told about who could help with the problems we have been having recently. Zack Raines, am i right?" he asked as he offered his hand to shake with mine, i shuck his hand and nodded, "that's right."

"You look young to be a savior member, but i'm sure you're one of those expert members who are the youngest of the team, right?" he asked me. "No sir, i am a rank 7, i only joined 2 months ago." He seemed surprise by that... no, he seemed slightly disappointed from the way his expression shifted after hearing about my rank and time with them. "My name is Leonard Adams, i am the mayor of this city." He got up and walked to the window. "I would've set the meeting place at city hall but... there was a murder there 3 days ago." He said all of this without looking back, he watched a plane pass by.

"From what i was told, the first murder happened during 8am-9am. He was a student who attended the Mistralton City High School. His parents told me he was an excellent student who got along well with his peers and faculty members. Never in his school did he ever bully anyone, cause argument or was late to a class. He was studying to become a lawyer form what his father told me." Leonard walks back to the chair. "His mother told me that before he left that morning prior to his death he forgot to take his homework with him, she wished that he returned to pick up his homework, she wished that in doing so saved him." Leonard looks up and notices Latias next to me still reading from the book, Leonard picks up a small rubber ball and throws it next to Latias but she continues to look at the book.

Leonard removes his glass and wipes his eyes, "The murders didn't stop with the young boy. At around midnight last night a man named Samuel Blake a postman was found dead in his car." Leonard puts his glasses back on, "both victims could only be identified by their name tags they had on with them..."

"Do you have any leads so far?" i asked Leonard as he looked up at me. "It was about yesterday afternoon an elderly woman by the name of Hayley a store clerk saw who the culprit was, it wasn't a man, or a woman... it was a Blastoise."

"Where about did the murders took place?" Leonard opened his desk draw and handed me a map of the city. He pointed towards the residential part of the city and labelled it.

"This is where the first victim died. Over here in the center was the second victim." The second victims location was labelled and finally Leonard labelled the 1st sighting of the blastoise located near the exit of the city north of here. "I suggest you start in this location, the blastoise may have left some clues there."

"Thank you sir, i'll get going right away." I got up and dragged Latias out of the office as we entered the elevator along with the man in the suit who i just noticed was standing behind us speaking with Leonard all this time.

As soon as we got back to the center, i found Isaac and Sakura both had recently finished treating their pokemon about to head out. I explained to them about the side mission and that we should head to the north section of Mistralton city. Latias however was still reading her book, from the looks of it, it was like she didn't read anymore from that book and was stuck on the same page. Looking over i saw the image Latias was staring at. The image was supposed to be the Latias' family, now that i think about it Latias never turned a page in that book before we entered the airport. I didn't realise it at the time, but thinking of it now, i assumed Latias was thinking about her family, where they were or why she found herself crashing outside my house. I never did say anything to her then i was only focused on the side mission.

Later, all of us arrived at the first location to go to, it was near the exit of Mistralton city, a police car was parked right outside the store that Leonard mentioned. As we entered the store we saw two police men inside looking at some snacks stacked on the shelves. The window next to the door was broken, possibly from the blastoise from earlier.

As i approached the elderly woman from behind the counter i told her who i was and that she reported about the blastoise that attacked earlier. "Oh yes," she replied, "That horrid pokemon went savage as soon as it emerged from the trees and attacked my store, i was lucky that the doors were locked, who knows what would've happened to me."

"Do you remember anything else? Where did the Blastoise go after it attacked?" i asked as she appeared to be shaking still. "I really don't know. B-but that blastoise sounded strange, like it wasn't even a blastoise... i'm sorry i can't be much help." She muttered under her breathe. "That's quite alright," i replied, "thank you for your time."

Both of us left the center to see Latias reading the book alone, she had turned a few pages after we left the store and was near the end of the book. Sakura looked at the dried mud trail from the trees. "Do you think that blastiose was an animated corpse?"

"It's possible, wait a minute." I then grabbed the device from my bag and called Reiko. I then explained to her that the blastoise may be an animated corpse wandering near the city. Reiko then told me that she was going to send savior soldiers to investigate, but in the mean time we should search the city.

Before we left the area we explained the situation with the police officers and asked if they could stay near the store on the lookout for the blastoise. They agreed and so we left for the next area of interest. The residential area was out next location, it was slightly quieter from the city area, but only a little bit. As we arrived at the area of the first attack we found the police had set up a crime scene. Since the area was still... being cleaned we spoke the detective in charge; Liam howitzer. He had taken us to a tent they set up filled with small boxes and a small table.

"These are the photo's we took when arriving at the crime scene, i'll tell ya, it ain't pretty." Liam placed 5 different photos of the first victim on the table, each photo though gory were taken from different angles. "The woman who found him called the police about it first, upon arriving she collapsed and had to be rushed to the nearest hospital. She awoke not long ago and told us that she saw no one suspicious when she walked the very same path she found the boy, but earlier she did hear a strange roaring sound from a pokemon."

"Detective, i called in to the saviours and they will be sending in some soldiers to investigate the problem, if anyone see's the blastoise, tell your men to keep your distance, it may be dangerous." I asked smiling inside at how serious i sounded. Lee nodded and so we left the tent to the next area. The final area was the city area located near the airport, again the police were in this area with the same exact equipment used for the first victim. There wasn't a a detective within this area but the police in charge at the time helped with information collected from multiple witnesses.

The first witness detailed that they could hear something run away after the attack towards the airport. The second witness described hearing a roaring sound but only for a brief second. They even recorded the noise but the quality was bad and the static was picked up more than the roaring. Out of everyone present to hear the recording, not either one of us could recognise the pokemon, it didn't sound like a blastoise at all.

I then grabbed my device again and called Leonard about the blastoise. "Leonard, it's me, Zack Raines. After looking at both areas it is possible that this may be a bio weapon created by Team Annihilation called animated corpses. These creatures are very dangerous." Leonard on the other line immediately asked, "How many are here?"

"Maybe one, i'm still not sure how many, but please; wanr the civilians before more get hurt or killed." There was silence for a while until...

"Hello Savior member." This voice wasn't Leonard, it was one i didn't recognise. Latias had stopped reading from the book as she heard the voice on the phone, "Lah... lah..." Isaac looked at her and translated for her, "She says that the voice on the other line is the assassin they caught in driftveil city; Death"

The man chuckled as he heard his own name being mentioned, "I see that you all know who i am then, well i can tell you all a few things, the first is that i have ye olde mayor hostage, second i have new weapons to test out, and third i have a new pokemon at my disposal. I'm pretty sure ya'll know about it by now? The blastoise is here in the office-"

Another voice came on as it was leonard who quickly added, "Please, you've got to save me, it's in the office i don't- ugh!" the sound of kicked was heard followed by gasps and groans until finally silence.

"Phew, so savior, come to the airport, i want to have a rematch with your stupid pokemon. You see they made my job slightly difficult and to make matters worse, they humiliated me by tying me up and sending me to the cops. Get here to the airport now, or i will command Blastoise to kill its third victim." The device was now shut off, all three of us rushed over to the airport were many people inside were forced to the ground as multiple drones were hovering inside surrounded the people and aiming their turrets at them.

"For an assassin he could've just killed the mayor and just leave. Is he really going after us because of our pokemon defeating him and tied him up?" Isaac asked as he looked forward at the airports entrance. "It must be his thing he does." Sakura replied also looking towards the airport. Looking up at Latias she was putting the book inside my bag .

"Latias?" I asked as she looked up at me, "do you think you could turn invisible and defeat the drones?" Latias looked over the hedges we hid behind and nodded before turning invisible.

From what we couldn't see, Latias flew towards the front door as it opened automatically alerting the drones. Latias fearing she had been caught froze up as she heard all drones loading their turrets, but as they saw nothing the resumed to target the civilians. Latias sighed and slowly entered.

Latias counted 14 drones all targeting about 32 civilians and airport staff, Latias assumed that there were more inside but she was concerned with the people at the front entrance. Latias looked around but found no other people being held hostage or any drone patrolling the area. Latias then from the side concentrated her psychic to target one drone at a time and force it to fly forcefully into a wall destroying it. The other drones watched as the drone was destroyed and remained to watch that area for a while until they targeted the civilians.

" _13 left."_ she thought as she looked down at the destroyed drone. _"I must try to destroy more of them... please work."_ Latias focused her energy as she forced two drones to crash into one another destroying both of them. All drones watched his happen and waited for something. Latias then tried again but with 3 this time, but suddenly she lost the use of her invisibility, something she hadn't quite yet mastered at. The longest time she could use this trick was about 2 minutes, first it was for about 40 seconds when she had lived in the house for about a year. For years she didn't know exactly how to train with this ability and assumed that 40 seconds was the limit. She found out 2 years ago that there was a website that trained her kind to prolong this effect.

Latias watched as all drones aimed their turrets at her, Latias immediately used protect as they fired at her. Through the gun fire Latias heard the whimpering and screams of the people below the drones. Latias then flew towards each drone and attacked them with Dragon claw with each hit defeating them. Finally she gathered all drones together using psychic and crushed them. Latias then signalled me to enter and we did.

As we entered the airport the people evactuated the airport and i had contacted the police about the assassin and the blastoise within the aiport. We then ran over to the elevator seeing as how it was the only way to get to Leonards office he was using. Both Isaac and Skaura sent out their pokemon, yamask and marill. Latias was given by me an Ether so she could restore her PP.

As soon as the elevator doors opened to Leonards level, Latias used protect thinking that the assassin would use a gun on them or more drones, but Death was in the room with the blastoise in the shell on the floor and leonard knocked out near the window.

"Ah, there you three are. Where are the rest of you bastards?" he got no response from any one of us, but out pokemon growled and glared at him readying to use their moves as we got out of the elevator. "The reason i called you over here instead of kill my target and go is simply this; i refuse to be humiliated by petty pokemon such as yourselves." The blastoise got up revealing its form. The face of the blastoise was completely skeletal with no flesh or eyes to be seen. Its paws, arms and legs appeared fine but slightly darker, It had a black box from the inside of its jaw which was from the looks of it a sound box. The blastoise aimed one of it's pumps at yamask but yamask quickly moved around the area as Yamask approached to attack. The blastoise fired an actual hydro pump but the blastoise directly hit yamask forcing it back.

Latias then used mist ball at the blastoise but didn't move and took the attacked Marill then used water gun on Death unaware of the incoming attack hitting his head against the window breaking it but not completely. Death then falls to the ground next to Leonard still unconscious.

"Latias, use psychic, hold it down!" i ordered Latias as she used psychic to grab hold of the blastoise, but the poekmon was too strong and moved closer and closer to Latias attempting to punch her. "Yamask, use Shadow ball!" Yamask fired it's move at the blastoise as it slowed down slightly but continued to move towards Latias. "Marill, use scald!" sakura commanded Marill as she jumped up and used scaled directly onto the blastoise's head. Latias then pushed the blastoise back and used Dragon claw.

The blastoise then punched Latias in the face as she was pushed back into the bookshelves. Suddenly the blastoise stopped in its tracks, the blastoise then fell to the ground and fell silent. Yamask approached the blastoise with a shadow ball ready and spoke to Isaac after checking up on it. "The Blastoise is dead." Isaac said as he walked up to it. Latias got up from the shelf and dusted herself off.

Sakura ran up to Leonard who regained consciousness, Death however was still unconscious so now was a good chance to tie him up as we waited for the police.

The police arrived and so were the paramedics, most of the airline crew were injured due to Death's Drones, none of them were killed and the injuries weren't that bad. At the ambulance, Leonard explained to us why the assassin targeted him, "The savior member from yesterday that was killed, he came into the city not long ago and revealed to that annihilation members were within the city, he said he would call when the threat was gone but he told me that he needed to go to Driftveil to speak to an informer about the location of Annihilation's HQ." Leonard coughed slightly. "Ever since he died i feared for my life that an assassin or annihilation member would be after me i hid here. I now can tell you that there is indeed an informer who knows the location of the base."

"Do you know where this informer is?" i asked but he shook his head, "The savior member didn't reveal it to me, he said that somewhere in black city is where they are based."

We then saw Death the assassin begin escorted to a armoured truck this time by armed police. Death scowled at us as he was being loaded into the truck. "The saviours will stay here for until we know it is safe again." I said to Leonard as he looked back at me.

"Thank you, all of you. Feel free to come by anytime, free meals on me, what do ya say?" Leonard smiled as he said that, all of us smiled as well.

To be continued...

Audio Entry 01/02 - Scientist Henry Scots

Date Unknown

People in recording have been identified as Juro (Leader of Annihilation) and Henry Scot (Recruited Scientist).

The tape begins, sound of footsteps against a wooden floor echoes throughout the room, a chair is pulled.

Juro speaks first, "Welcome to Team Annihilation Mr. scot, from what i have read from your past it seems that you are interested in a job within Annihilation." Henry coughs lightly.

"No, you came to me after that 'Incident' with that weak bastard who couldn't survive an injection. *Sighs* But i will accept a job here if the money is good enough, and if i can finish my experiments."

There is a small pause...

"Good." The sound of documents is heard through the recording device. "I believe i have a project for you, do you accept?"

"Project? What project?" Henry coughs slightly, a chair creaks slightly (Thanks for Savior RK 03 Josh Keaton for picking up the sound in the audio.)

"A project that will change the world. This project is sort've a... a plan B should things go wrong with Annihilation. This project is top secret, only a few members here know about it. But this project will be our little secret."

Henry laughs loud into the mic. "Then why are you telling me about this top secret project if you are telling me about it?"

Juro: "You are a high ranking scientist and i believe that your skills could come in handy for our project... no, i know your skills are needed for our team."

"A project that can change the world huh? secret you say? Like your name?"

"Hm?" There is a longer pause, the audio has been tampered with. Unknown amount of time skip.

Henry's voice is picked up through static, "I asked [AUDIO MALFUNCTION] told me a few days before our interview, and believe me or not, i can tell when someone lies to me. That project you have that's secret, you told the truth, the project is called Doom, correct?" Henry chuckles to himself.

"Only a few people know about that."

"Yeah, i heard that 02 was a pain to get into the team. Nathaniel, right?"

Juro shuffles through some documents, "He was imprisoned after a Savior member caught him. Do you know him?"

[Audio Malfunction] Unable to recover lost audio.

Juro's voice is once again heard, "These documents explain what Doom is and why it is necessary for us. Your new form will allow you to continue with your work and help with future events that may or may not occur, depending on the situation ahead."

There is silence within the room. After a few seconds pass by the sound of writing can be heard on the tape.

Juro can be heard after the audios volume seems to be lowering, "Congratulations 07, you will help us recreate the world."

The door opens as the tape comes to an abrupt end.

Date of recording: Unknown 2019 (A few weeks after the imprisonment of Nathaniel)

Key people:

Henry Scott

Juro (Leader of Team Annihilation)

Actions taken:

Rank 02 and 03 are looking into Henry scot for more information about him.

Review on tape with Clark Stone.

Rank 01 officials will look into 'Doom' location.

 **AN: And so, chapter 17 will be next week either Wednesday or** **Thursday. Not sure if i should post up 2 chapters instead of 1 per week... Well, i hope you enjoyed this weeks chapter and... until next time.**


	17. Chapter 17 No Return

**AU: Had to rewrite this chapter from scratch after an error occurred on my computer recently... good times huh(!) My computer sure does like destroying my files. Well, enough about my damned computer, here is chapter 17 – No Return. Please enjoy.**

Chapter 17 - No Return

We had now left Mistralton city and we had to pass Twist Mountain. Sakura told us that she once came here on a field trip when she was younger. "We came here to look around for some rocks to collect to take back with us." Sakura said as she carried Minccino as she was eating an oran berry. "It was boring for the start and middle of it, but towards the end a diglett appeared momentarily and fled after it saw most of us."

The walk down twist mountains path was kind of steep, but we managed by standing behind one another and taking things slow, _"Why isn't there an alternative route to get pass this mountain?"_ I always wondered why there wasn't an alternative path or the road that lead to Iccirus City, guess everyone liked to battle the pokemon there.

As we walked further down the path the dirt path, I couldn't help but notice that something was off for some reason, like as if I wasn't feeling good. I guess in a way of explaining it was like this; it felt as if almost every joint in my entire body seemed to be tingling, and then immediately stopping. This feeling came and went like a blink of an eye. It wasn't painful, but it made me feel sick as well. I was about to say something, ask the others if they felt something similar just then, until…

"OSHA!" Oshawott shouted as he fell off my shoulders –no, he was pushed off by an attacking pokemon. As I watched Oshawott fall, the attacking pokemon was a Geodude disguised as a rock in the cliff. The Geodude jumped after Oshawott as he fell into a small fissure that collapsed as Oshawott fell on it with the Geodude following soon after.

"Oshawott! Hey!" I ran down the steep path as the others called out to me not to, but since i didn't listen i paid the price. Slipping on a slanted rock i fell face first onto the path, i must've fallen almost to the mountain cave entrance, almost a quarter way down. As soon as i stopped sliding I got up and looked over the edge to the collapsed ground and shouted, "Oshawott!"

 **Oshawott's POV**

It was dark when i opened my eyes, the tunnel wasn't completely dark, I could see what was in front of me ahead slightly as I walked closer, but just barely. The fall I took did a small amount of damage to me; but that pokemon that knocked me off of Zack did a good amount of HP lose. "Ah!" touching my side face I felt a slight bit of pain, it wasn't bleeding but every time i touched it, it stung. "What hit me? When i find that son of a bitch I'll punch it off a cliff myself... as soon as i find out where the exit is first." I looked around the cave to still find nothing but dirt and old rocks. "Whoever punched me was some twisted-mountain bastard (a take on twisted...hm)... god that was a terrible joke... why am I talking to myself?" sighing I managed to find the exit of the tunnel to find more tunnels and dead ends.

"Wonder why no one bothers to build lights in this damned cave?" I asked myself but only got an echo as a response. _"And there I go with talking to myself again... *sighs*"_ I stopped where i was to hear voice coming this way, they weren't Zack's or the others voices but strangers. Running in a random room and hid behind a large rock.

"Where did that pokemon go?" one of the pokemon had asked as they walked together, looking from behind the rock i saw 4 pokemon, all rock types and all male. One was a graveller while the rest were Geodudes. "it must be in here, i saw it fall and jumped down to follow it but ended up in the wrong tunnel." I was getting angry, angry at how randomly they just attacked me for no reason, i wanted to step out from behind the rock and face them, but as soon as i thought about it a larger pokemon appeared, much larger than me or the others, it was an onix.

"Are the intruders gone yet?" the onix calmly asked as it looked straight ahead. "Not yet, we are still checking the other areas of the tunnels." One of the geodudes replied as the onix moved slightly forward. "There are humans, three of them. Make sure they are dealt with." The onix moved forward past the rock where i was behind. The others separated as they searched the tunnels behind them but they didn't go anywhere near the room i was in or past it.

" _Three humans? Zack, sakura and the weird guy. I gotta find them."_ Looking over the large rock to see if the coast was clear i began to run cautiously towards the tunnel the onix was heading.

 **End of Oshawott's POV**

As we had just entered the cave before taking out a few flashlights from our bags. The sign at the caves entrance said 'All visitors must have a flashlight before entry. You can ask for a flashlight rental for 5PD or assistant to guide you through the cave 30PD. Be careful of pokemon and rocks.' _"It was a good thing we had these. We can't wait around any longer."_

The cave though dark was a little creepy, i can why people hire assistants with them to traverse through the cave. "So Sakura, did you enter these caves during your field trip?" Isaac asked making conversation which helped ease the silence. "No, the teacher did say he would get some flashlights for us but he never did."

"Geo!" Isaac stopped as he looked back at the noise he just heard. He shinned his light to see a Geodude right near his feet. The Geodude then punched his leg, it wasn't a very powerful punch, it missed him slightly but grazed his leg. "Ah! Hey!" Isaac stepped back as we turned also to see the Geodude getting into a offensive pose. I sent out Totodile and Sakura sent out Marill before returning Minccino into her pokeball.

Isaac then spoke to the Geodude as calmly as he could not wanting to aggravate the Geodude, "Why are you attacking us? Have we entered your territory?" The Geodude jumped up ready to punch Isaac but Marill used Bubblebeam directly hitting the Geodude along with Totodile's water gun greatly weakening it.

The Geodude then focused its attention on both Totodile and Marill demanding them to fight it. Marill uses another bubble beam but it evades the attack, Saklura orders Marill to use waterfall damaging the Geodude. Totidle used Watergun on the Geodude defeating the pokemon. But before we could capture it or ask it any questions, the Geodude used dig to escape.

 **POV changed once more to Oshawott... for the last time.**

It was a long tunnel, mostly quiet and mostly just me. My first encounter in this tunnel was a Geodude, since this Geodude was a rock type and I being a water type was easy right…? eh.

The Geodude used a combination of dig and rock throw, Rock throw did a number on me. First shot was right on the middle of my forehead. Second shot was at my left shoulder. The third however missed me, it was most likely he was aiming at my head again. Running up to him i used water gun directly at his face, after the first attack i attacked again carefully making sure that i didn't run out of PP otherwise i would be just flailing everywhere. The Geodude began to wipe its eyes from the water, _"Perfect!"_ i thought as i grabbed my Scalchop and jumped up from the ground smiling as i readied to use Razor shell, until...

*WHAM!* "Trying to act all cool with my SFX… Zack, don't mention this part to anyone."

I was flanked from behind, another Geodude attacked punching me right in the back of my head, but it didn't stop there or after the first attack they would monologue saying

'Haha, what a loser! We beat you.' Nope. The Geodude i was attacking punched me in my face as i fell in front of him. On the ground i gasped for air, i couldn't feel the pain at first, but as soon I took my first breath, that's when the pain came.

Small drops of blood dripped on the floor and my vision slightly blurry, but i could see more pokemon and the onix appear.

"An Oshawott?" The Onix spat, "Kill it, find the others if you-" the Onix stopped talking after that, never spoke again as I threw my scalchop with my razor shell activated right into his forehead. Using Aqua jet i rushed over to my scalchop and attacked all pokemon near me.

The pokemon i fought were tough, every injury they inflicted upon me i countered it back with a stronger attack. My blood was stained everywhere mixed with the blood of the others. I saw more of them approach me, with my last ounce of strength i spat out the blood from my mouth and held my scalchop high above my head and charged at them.

 **POV ends...**

We heard screams coming from down one of the tunnels. One loud roar at first until it fell silent. The sounds of rumbling and crashing were heard the more we got closer to it.

As we approached we saw many pokemon bleeding and some dead. There was an Onix in front of us, but it was dead since its forehead was stabbed by a weapon of some kind, that's when it hit me, the pokemon they fought in this tunnel was probably Oshawott. "Oshawott! Are you there?" I called out and heard the echo that followed... nothing. Sakura shinning her light saw something move besides two dead Geodude's. We moved in closer to see a bloodied Dewott injured from head to toe lying against the rock wall. "O-Oshawott, i-is that you?" I asked as the Dewott moved its head towards me and nodded before collapsing.

We finally got out of that cave; Dewott was quickly healed up with the potions and bandages we gave to him. Dewott opened his eyes and slowly raised his paws. His eyes widened and said "D-Dewott?" Dewott then stood up and walked towards the nearby tree sitting down as he leaned his back against it.

A few moments passed by, and with help from Isaac after translating from Dewott he said, "D-Dewott told me he never wanted to evolve." Isaac looks over at Dewott sitting alone. "He told me he fears them, he wouldn't explain why he dislikes them."

Sakura then grabs a stone from her bag; it was teal in color and circle shaped. "This is an Everstone," she said, "It prevents pokemon from evolving, i was originally going to give it to Marill but she declined it. Maybe Dewott would like it." Sakura handed me the stone and i thanked her for it. Reaching for my bag i found a piece of string i could use. It took a while but i managed to make what i wanted, it was an Everstone necklace i made by wrapping the string around the stone firmly.

Getting up i walked over to Dewott as he noticed me kneel down beside him. "Dewott, i know it's too late to give you this but, you look cool as a Dewott." Dewott looked at the Everstone in my hand. "I'm sorry Dewott, if I only knew you didn't want to evolve." Dewott got up and hugged me accepting the Everstone. Dewott put the necklace on around his neck and smiled thanking me.

 **Dewott's POV for the first time**

It was the first time i became a Dewott, the first time i ever evolved and it was my last time, especially with my new Everstone necklace Zack made for me. Latias' cute smile as she looked at me with those golden eyes, it was...nice. At Getting up we walked back to the others together close by one another.

To be continued...

Trivia:

In Black I was going to keep Oshawott as it was, but it's video game counterpart accidentally evolved after a three hour long session and because i didn't want to lose all of that progress I decided to keep Oshawott as a Dewott. Because i liked that idea of a Pokémon accidentally evolving after not wanting to, I decided to keep Dewott as a Dewott for the entirety of the story and would never evolve.


	18. Chapter 18 Changes

**AU: This chapter was originally part of chapter 19, but I felt that it didn't belong in that chapter, it kind of felt out of place. Also, i promise that the next chapter will have up to 5k words, really trying to reach 2k minimum per chapter other than 1k or less.** **So, here's chapter 18 for ya'll, so please enjoy.**

Chapter 18 - Changes

After Oshawott had evolved into a Dewott recently we all decided to help Dewott adjust to his new form. As we sat down on the grass near the caves exit, most of the pokemon were eating berries and a few pieces of fruit bought in Mistralton city yesterday. I then called Lee using the Saviors device about Dewott's and how to train them.

"A Dewott eh? Well when Oshawott's evolves they become mature... well depending on their age before evolving that is. Dewott's are known to train almost every day to get stronger for their next battle or to protect their closest allies." Lee looked up from the computer he was reading from and asked, "Here is some more information for you if you would like to know a bit more about Dewotts?" i agreed. Lee then cleared his throat as he looked back at the computer screen he was reading the document from about Dewott's

"When a male and female Dewott come fall in love and decide to mate with each other, they sometimes give each other one of their scalchops as a symbol of trust and love. There is a link to an actual video of a male and female doing this but the saviours Device at the moment cannot play videos because of the damned space. Anyway, uh... where was i?... ah here we go ahem. A male Dewott when looking for a female will approach them or if the female approaches them they will talk and become friends and whatnot- it's almost the same as human relationships."

"They then date for a while until they decide if they are the one for each other, when this occurs they then mate for the first time and wait for a child or more to hatch from the egg and live with one another till the end of time."

Thinking back to what Dewott said to Isaac that he never wanted to evolve i asked him, "Lee, Dewott said he never wanted to evolve, do you have any idea as to why he doesn't like dewotts?"

"Perhaps Oshawott wasn't sure about evolving, maybe he wasn't ready for evolving, it's hard to say really. Maybe Dewott will tell you about it one day." With that i thanked Lee for the information and the device shut off. That night we set up camp for the night seeing as how late it had gotten and tomorrow morning we would help Dewott train.

 **Latias POV**

It was night time already, the moon illuminated its light down on our campsite as my trainer and the others slept in their individual tents. The fire almost gone after a few hours of keeping us warm and heating up soup and roasting oran berries... it was disgusting to taste since we kept burning it too much. I was resting on my stomach as i watched the fire poking it with a small stick i found nearby.

Looking past the fire in front of me was Dewott sitting on a rock looking at the sky whilst leaning against a large tree. Getting up i levitated up to him asking him if he was alright since he didn't eat much at dinner.

"I'm fine, really." Dewott said staring at the sky still. "The food wasn't that good today." I smiled and agreed with him as i looked up at the moon shining down upon us two sitting together.

Thinking back as to what Dewott said earlier, that he didn't want to evolve into a Dewott i asked him, "Dewott?" Dewott looked at me and blushed slightly. "Earlier you said you didn't want to evolve into a Dewott, why didn't you want to evolve?" Dewott looked down at his feet and said, "A Dewott... When i was young- a lot younger than i am now, my parents were killed by a houndoom." I gasped as i heard that, but i didn't say anything letting him continue. "I lived by myself for a while until met... this human that had taken me in. His Dewott at the time was quiet most of the time and distanced himself from me." Dewott picked up a few small pebbles and threw the one by one at an old tree.

"One night before we left the city, the Dewott ran back so fast that we struggled to keep up with him. We found him again but... " I lightly touched his shoulder, Dewott looked up at me and then back at the tree. "w-we also found the houndoom with him, the same houndoom was there. By the time we arrived the Dewott had already killed the houndoom...the body was cut up so badly that the Dewott was covered in the houndooms blood, it scared me so much. I never knew why the Dewott went back to the city and killed my parents murderer... i guess it was just a random attack." Dewott paused for a moment then continued. "From then on i promised myself that i wouldn't evolve into a Dewott, i didn't want to evolve into a Dewott capable of doing something like that."

"You're not like that Dewott, what that Dewott did, you're nothing like him and you never will be. To me you'll always be that happy Oshawott i met in Nuvema town." Dewott smiled and thanked me, i asked him if he was going back to the camp to sleep, but he said he was going to stay up a little longer. As i said goodnight to him i levitated up and went inside Zack's tent where he was still asleep and laid down beside him to sleep.

 **POV Changed to Dewott**

After Latias had left to go inside the tent I walked around the forest for a while. This night was peaceful, no random pokemon getting mad and attacking me for some reason, no hunter or zombie thing... just silence.

As i had walked for about 5 minutes away from the campsite, I saw a small river and knelt beside it looking over the ledge to see my reflection. It was strange after being an Oshawott for most of my child to teen life now an adult, it was strange seeing something else besides an Oshawott, and it was like I was wearing a very convincing mask.

Touching both of my new whiskers with my fingers was weird; my whiskers were soft at the touch but slightly spiky at the tip. After that i looked over the ledge again and stared at my new form. _"She's right, being a Dewott doesn't mean I'll become anything like that Dewott."_ Reaching for my scalchop I realised that it wasn't on my stomach anymore. Grabbing both of them off my darker fur around my waist, I then activated razor shell. I spent roughly around 10 minutes attacking a rock nearby before heading back.

I then stopped after a thought came to mind; 'Castelia city' an image like a painted canvas of that place froze in my mind. It wasn't just the skyline of the city, not a photo of an iconic building or a section of the city, it was that alley… that same alley me, my mom and dad lived together from my birth until I was taken in by juniper.

I then remembered the Dewott that killed my parents killer in that way, the way he cut, tore and ripped through the flesh of that houndoom so viscioulsy. I despised that I was a pokemon with just a few exp, I would evolve into that pokemon that I hated. The thought of seeing Latias smiling at me, it made me feel happy.

As I began to walk towards the camp again, I then imagined myself standing on a large rock with with my friends cheering me on beneath me, as I determined that I would grow into a strong Dewott that can continue on.

" _I ain't evolving into a samurott though, so i can walk into the city with Zack and the others without taking up too much space."_ And i never did.

To be continued...

Trivia:

Dewott's personality was completely different than his original story counterpart. In the original, Dewott was moody and didn't like others being around him much because of his past.


	19. Chapter 19 Shiny Pokemon

**AN: And so chapter 19 is here. I spent a good amount of time on this chapter, even including new scenes and quotes from certain characters. Originally this chapter was about 1.5K, but I managed to stretch it to about 3K.**

Chapter 19 - Shiny Pokemon

The walk to Icirrus city wasn't long from Twist Mountain; it was about 5 minutes or 3 depending on how fast you can walk. As we approached the city it was completely covered in thick snow, the place looked lively as many people in groups placed decorations on many buildings, windmills and trees. Near the pokemon center was a restaurant that had a lot of food displayed on a table with the sign saying 'Help yourself, no charge.' And 'For any allergy concerns, please inform the chef.'

"What's this about?" I asked as we began to walk further into the city, Sakura then replied, "It's some kind of festival, maybe someone's birthday or a celebration of some kind." We then saw an elderly man wearing a black raincoat, he saw us before approaching and spoke, "Welcome to Icirrus city, please help yourselves to some of the food and drink here, we have a lot planned for the night if you stick around." He smiled, "What is this about?" Isaac asked crossing his arms. "This here is the festival of Icirrus city, over 100 years ago the city was attacked by wild pokemon until a legendary pokemon known as Palkia saved the city and its residents. Ever since that day the city remembers as Palkia saved our city and honor the Palkia that saved us."

Looking over his shoulder i noticed a few people were not only putting up decorations up, they were cleaning up some kind of red liquid near the lake. Beyond the lake from the looks of it were people fixing up a wall on the windmill that appeared to be broken. "The restaurant there-" he pointed, "Feel free to grab a bite to eat, send out your pokemon cause we've got plenty to pass around. Later the fun and games will start, enjoy your stay." The old man left as we walked over to the restaurant, there seemed to be no one sitting down at the time so we brought out our pokemon to eat together.

The food on the table looked very delicious so we just grabbed one of everything and passed it between ourselves to share. Sakura sitting next to me was reading from a poster someone had left on the table, the poster detailed the events and activities planned for later on; fireworks at night to end the day, music, dancing, acrobats that will be performed in the nearby gym.

Dewott and Latias sitting beside me were eating apple pie and a glass of orange juice. Totodile sitting next to Sakura alongside Minccino and Marill ate ice cream together. Yamask, Isaac, Ampharos and Growlithe ate cake they got from inside the restaurant; Chikorita however only ate a few berries from the bowl alone. The food was delicious and the music they played from the speakers was a happy violin solo, it was something i had heard a few times during my younger years in Nuvema town back home, i don't remember what the song was called or who even made it, it was one of those background songs you hear from time to time.

 ***THUD!***

All of us were startled as an apple had been thrown at the corner of the table hitting Latias' plate with her half finished pie. "There she is!" Shouted an old man accompanied by 4 others holding a few baseball bats as they approached us.

"Make sure she doesn't escape!" Ordered the same man we saw from earlier also holding a baseball bat as more others had gathered surrounding us all with angry expressions and shouting things like, "There she is!" "Kill her!" "Rip her eyes out!" Then suddenly someone threw an apple at Latias hitting her directly on her forehead as she yelped out in pain. All of us got up in a defensive stance; even Dewott had activated his scalchops readying to use razor shell.

"Surrender your Latias immediately! Do it now or you'll all be arrested!" Ordered a policeman as he aimed his gun shaking his gun slightly at us, towards our heads. 3 men with pitchforks, the police officer and another man with a baseball bat emerged from the crowd and attacked us.

The man with the baseball attempted to hit Marill but she evaded his attack and attacked him with a bubble beam followed by Minccino tackling his leg causing him to hop around on one foot yelling in pain. The policeman then shot his handgun at Dewott injuring him as he lost a good amount of HP.

"Yamask, Shadow ball!" Isaac ordered as Yamask shot the attack at the police officer as it forced him back slightly but not enough. Growlithe then charged up as he used the move Flare blitz at the police officer knocking him out.

"Totodile, use bite!" I ordered as Totodile used bite at the man still hopping around on one leg. Totodile bite the man on the shoulder and he fell to the ground as he became unconscious.

The man with the pitchfork charged at Latias but she used Protect to stop the attack. The man attempted to stab again and again at the Protect to breach through and attack Latias. Dewott used Razorshell at the man injuring him and was electrocuted by Ampharos knocking him out. Suddenly we heard from the crowd, "What is the meaning of this!?"

A man in his late 40s wearing a dark blue coat, dark jeans and boots. The man wearing glass and dark brown hair emerged from the crowd and looked back at them, "This is a time for celebration, why are you all gathered around these kids and attacking them?" He asked as one woman spoke up from the crowd, "That Latias is the one that attacked out city recently." Another voice spoke after her, "She's the one that hurt my baby girl!" All of the shouts that followed after one another made Latias panic as she hid behind me.

"You're wrong." I said raising my voice, "Latias didn't attack anyone." Most of the crowd looked at me but others were trying to look at Latias and throw more things at her. "Lair!" shouted a few kids throwing stone at us, Dewott deflected a few but they didn't hit anyone of us. "I'm sorry kid," the man said as he approached me. "But this is for the best."

 **Icirrus city Police Station – Cells**

Latias had been placed inside one of the cells in the police station; the man was the chief of the police of Icirrus city. Me, Isaac and Sakura standing outside of Latias' cell were surrounded by two other police officers, one man and one woman, the police chief was talking to someone on the phone from the other room about something not one of us could tell what he was saying. As he was finished he returned from the room and said, "I just spoke to the saviours to confirm of who you are, turns out you are a rank 7 on a mission, to do what exactly?" he said crossing his arm. The police woman standing behind pushed me, "I bet he's a drug smuggler. Let's lock this idiot up along with his friends." The police chief didn't do anything about her so i just ignored.

"I am just escorting a pokemon to Opelucid city to reunite with her trainer." The police chief known a Ryan Sutherland looked at the Latias who looked at her with disgust, "In all my life I never thought a pokemon would ever commit an act like that." Latias sitting down on the bench against the wall refused to look up and closed her eyes trying to hide her tears but the policeman standing beside Sakura said, "Look at her, the bitch is crying, she obviously did it."

"She didn't do anything," I snapped, "Latias was with us the entire time, she couldn't have attacked this city recently." The police officers just snickered at this, "Fine then, I'll give you 24 hours to find any evidence that this Latias didn't do anything, in the meantime beat it!" the police officers and the chief left us alone with Latias as she looked up as we approached the cell.

Kneeling down and reached out to Latias with my arm and called out to her, "Latias." Latias looked up whipping her tears from her eyes and levitated towards the cell bars. "Don't worry; we'll get you out of here."

"Lah, lah... lah...!*sobs*" She cried grabbing hold of my shirt and placed her head on it. "Latias said she never did anything and was with you the entire time." Isaac explained after translating what Latias said. Stroking her long neck i told her that we would find a way to prove her innocence.

As soon as we left the police station, all we were ever given by the people around the city were glares and a few insults, mostly by a few kids as they threw snowballs and large rocks at us. As we entered the city an hour ago this place was a bright and happy place, but after the people tried to attack Latias this place became a dimmer place, the police officers seemed corrupt after most officers whilst taking her to the cell at the time appeared to attempt to go near her and attack her, but thankfully, Yamask, Minccino and Dewott made sure that no one touched Latias or threw anything or spat at her.

"What should we do first? Look around the area first?" Sakura asked as i remembered a few locations of interest that i wanted to check, the people near the lake cleaning up some kind of red liquid and the windmill wall being repaired. "When we entered the city and spoke to that old man talking about the festival, i noticed there were some people cleaning up red liquid near the lake; I want to ask them about it."

"Red liquid?" Sakura questioned as she looked over at the lake, "I heard a woman from the crowd shout out that her daughter was attacked." We then left the area to go towards the lake hoping to find some clues that could help us.

Meanwhile from the window of the police station a police officer was watching us as we left the area. The policeman then walked to the cell to find Latias still on the bench, "You know something?" said the man as Latias looked up at him, "If those kids don't find any evidence to help you, me and my friends here along with a good handful of the residents will come here and kill you. Think about that you guilty bitch!" The policeman kicked the cell bars a few times attempting to intimidate her. The man then left shutting the lights off for the area leaving Latias almost in the dark cell if it weren't for the bared up window.

Suddenly Latias hears a tapping on the cell window; Latias becomes curious and levitates up to see what is doing this. Latias gasps as she sees another Latias right outside the window smiling at her.

"Oh my, ain't you a cutie." The Latias said to Latias as she heard her say from the outside. Latias looked at her more closely and caught on that she was a shiny Latias and slightly larger than her.

Latias then asks "W-who are you?" The shiny Latias smiles and replies with "They call me a lot of things you know, but most call me Shiny Latias. I am a Latias like you, but Shinier." Latias confused as to why the Shiny Latias is here, Shiny Latias then begins to say, "I saw you arrive in town recently along with your allies. I wanted to come over and greet you, but I thought at the time… 'Nah.'."

Latias then realizes why the residents and the police believe Latias to be attacking everyone recently was that it was indeed Shiny Latias was the one attacking them.

"I-I-it was you," She stuttered as Shiny Latias listened in on her, "It was you who attacked the city and the people. Why?" Shiny Latias scoffed and shook her head, "Why? They're bad people and corrupted. I mean look at you and your friends. When they accused you they didn't sue the Innocent until proven guilty thing, yet they right away go to 'Guilty! Burn the Witch!' phase." Latias then sighed in relief after believing that the Shiny Latias would help her clear her name.

"Thank you, could you please go inside the station and turn yourself in? I'm pretty sure that you could still make amends with the people here if you do." Shiny Latias rolled her eyes and closed them before shaking. "I don't think so." Shiny Latias then opened her eyes once more and smiled, "I did this to you because I don't exactly like you, Latias." Latias widens her eyes as she asks "H-how did you know I was called after my species?" Shiny Latias then said, "I have been following you and your trainer Zack for some time now, why you may ask yourself?" Latias waited as Shiny Latias revealed to her why she was following them, "I wanted to meet you; I wanted to see if you, Latias had changed at all." Shiny Latias then gave off an evil smile, confused Latias replied, "Changed? W-what do you mean changed?"

Shiny Latias giggled to herself and pointed at her forehead with one of her claws, "Oh, I cannot wait to see you activated into a weapon." Shiny Latias then turns away from the prison and smiles, "Farewell Latias, we will see each other again really soon." Shiny Latias looked back at Latias with an evil smile before flying towards the city.

Latias then levitated towards the cell bars and shouted, "Please! Anyone! I'm innocent! The pokemon that attacked the city wasn't me, it was a shiny Latias!" She got no response, not even the light from the other room switched on. Latias then looks up at the window once more asking herself why the shiny Latias approached her, why was she following them, and why she couldn't wait for her to change into some kind of weapon.

 **Meanwhile at Icirrus City – Lake**

The lake once populated by people setting up decorations and posters was now entirely empty. The decorations had been left unfinished, food left out on tables barely eaten. We then walked all around the lake to find the red liquid but couldn't find a trace of it. _"They must've cleaned it up."_ I thought as we stopped searching.

Attempting to enter the buildings all had 'Closed' signs outside or the doors were locked, the only exception was the pokemon center, it was the only building in the city that didn't have anyone giving us any looks or shout out insults or suggesting we leave and cause trouble elsewhere.

We then decided to go and check the windmill that was still damaged. The windmill had a large hole in the wall about 40 inches or so with burnt marks at the edges, this was probably due to a pokemon attack. As we entered inside of it, it was quiet except the occasional slamming of the open window near the door.

Suddenly an attack from above was used almost hitting us, looking up we saw a shiny Latias preparing to use another attack, Mist ball from the looks of it. "A Latias? She must be the Latias that attacked recently!" Exclaimed Sakura as Marill was sent out of her pokeball and used Bubblebeam, but the shiny Latias evaded the attack and pushed Marill over with Psychic into a wall.

Dewott threw one of his scalchops with razor shell activated at the Latias but she again used psychic to reflect the attack back at Dewott hitting him right in the chest. "Ampharos use Confuse ray." But before Ampharos could attack, the shiny Latias charged down at Ampharos and used Zen Headbutt in the face. Before anyone of us could call out another pokemon, the Latias then flees from the hole on the wall leading outside. "C'mon, after her!" I said as all of us ran out of the windmill in search of the Latias before she had fled, but the shiny Latias had flew so high up in the sky that none of our attacks or the usage of a pokeball to catch her could stop her from fleeing, she was gone.

 ***Snap!***

Looking down from the windmill we saw a few people as they watched the Latias fleeing high up in the sky shocked, "T-that Latias!" whispered one person from the small crowd, "it was her!" The others with him agreed as they watched the Latias leave, all talking amongst themselves.

 **Icirrus city Hotel – 4** **th** **floor**

As we were all resting up in the hotel room for the night we decided to watch tv instead of going to the festival tonight. After the residents of the city explained to the police that the real culprit was in their words a 'Yellow Latias.' the police released Latias without apologising to her or us on how she was judged and treated. _"The sooner we are out of this city the better"_ I thought as I watched that super Latias tv show on the bed next to Latias eating some ice cream happy that her name was cleared.

Outside of the hotel window, Shiny Latias watches as she sees Latias sitting on the bed with Zack besides her. _"Poor Latias, if only she knew who she truly is."_ Shiny Latias then giggled to herself before she flies upwards towards the sky and leaves the city. Latias looks over at the window as the fireworks begin.

To be continued...

Trivia:

The Shiny Latias that appears within this chapter is based on the first Shiny Legendary i ever obtained. Over one hundred attempts at this, i ain't going back.


	20. Chapter 20 Healing the Sick

Chapter 20 - Healing the Sick

As the sun shines down on the cold streets of the new day, Sakura and Minccino decided to walk around the city for a while leaving me alone in my room as I fed both of my pokemon watching some cartoons. Isaac woke up early as well, but he resupplied on supplies at the store in the hotel's lobby.

Minccino on Sakura's left shoulder looked around as the two walked through the streets now filled with about 20-30 people and a few pokemon accompanying them. As she walked, none however gave her any dirty looks or bothered by anyone, it was as if the people from yesterday never existed within this city.

"They changed their attitude quickly." Sakura whispered into Minccino's ear as she nodded in agreement. Sakura looked over at a few people talk amongst themselves as they approached the pokemon center, they didn't look back from where they were talking or seemed to talk about her or what happened yesterday. Sakura almost near the entrance of the center heard from the small crowd the following, 'And so my son joined the military the very next day.' 'Is he coming back soon?' 'He said he'll write another letter about it as soon as he can.' Sakura entered the center, like yesterday it was empty and the same music was playing from the speakers above.

"Guess they forgot about it, hmm?" Sakura stroked Minccino as she smiled.

The two spent about a few minutes browsing a few magazines and leaflets advertised in the center about upcoming events in Icirrus and other cities nearby. A few of them were interesting to her, events like an art exhibit in black city and the aquarium in Undella town.

As Sakura left the center she noticed the crowd wasn't there anymore so she decided to go back to the hotel room to tell the others about the events.

"Cinno..." Minccino's ears lifted up as she looked around for something, Sakura stopped and noticed her looking around, "Minccino, is something wrong?" Sakura asked her but as she looked north past the gym up north was a woman is crying out for help as she is carrying her daughter.

"Please help! Someone! My d-daughter..." The woman begged as many of the citizens helped carry the young girl to the medic center just behind the pokemon center. Sakura quickly followed them but one of the doctors inside the center refused to let anyone inside as many had attempted to enter inside.

Sakura then returned to the hotel and told us what had happened with the mother and her daughter. As soon as Sakura mentioned what had happened to us, my savior device beeped alerting me to a message.

Subject: Side Mission 58

To-Savior Rank IV-VII

From-Reiko Stone

Location- Icirrus

A woman has reported that her daughter had collapsed due to poisoning near the Icirrus city's cave. Report to Maxine White located within the Icirrus City Medical Center upon arrival.

Reward(s)

6000PD

Elixir or Full Heal

Good luck everyone.

After reading the message, together we walked to the center to find a few people standing outside the building all with concerned expressions whilst some tearing up being held closely by someone else. As we entered the building, the doctors inside were walking left and right carrying boxes and documents. The receptionist behind the desk was talking on the phone, what she was saying i couldn't pick up from where we where so we approached the desk as a doctor from behind us approached. The center was small, mostly filled with bookshelves spread out around the room.

"Can I help you?" The doctor was wearing a blue shirt and tan pants; she appeared to be in her early 30s, perhaps younger. She was a brunette with hair reaching down to her shoulders. "We're looking for a Maxine White. My name is Zack Raines and I'm a savior member." I replied as I noticed a young girl leave another room near the exit with an old man calming her down as she sniffed holding his hand.

"My name is Samantha Thompson; I am a doctor at the center here. I'll take you to Maxine and her daughter." We walked behind the counter to another room where we saw a young girl with a wet cloth on her forehead, her face red. The mother beside her noticed us as we entered.

"Thank goodness, I didn't think you would show up so soon." She sighed, "Go ahead Maxine," Samantha said stepping forward, "Tell them what happened."

"My daughter Diane likes to play in the forest up north. There is a cave further up, but I tell her not to go inside it because of the pokemon inside. Diane always comes back by 10 before i leave for work, but she didn't show up. Worried i searched for her... a-and that i when i found her lying in the cold snow faced down." Maxine cried as she held her daughters hand. "That is when i noticed blood on her leg just above her ankle."

"She was poisoned by a pokemon." Samantha said as she flipped through some pages of a book she picked up. Samantha then showed us an herb, "This herb cures poison in humans, but unfortunately we do not have any and the nearest place a cure can be found is... the cave." Samantha then handed us the book as we looked at it more closely, it was a blue flower, common within the Unova region and only grows up north. Like Samantha said, the herb is somewhere inside the cave.

"Don't worry," I said placing the book into my bag, "We'll find the herb for you." Maxine looked up at me, "Please, help her." I nodded as both of us turned around and left the room.

As we walked past the Icirrus city gym i could've sworn i heard some battling going on inside, but as we stepped further away from the place the less I wondered about it and focused on finding the herb for the sick girl in the cave.

The forest was quiet despite being this close to the city, not a sound of a car in the distance or children laughing and screaming, it was silent.

"I wonder how deep this herb is in the cave." Sakura said as Minccino was brushing Sakura's shoulder with her tail. "We only need one herb to cure Diane, let's collect more of them just in case someone else gets poisoned." Isaac reminded us as he read the book with the different kinds of herbs and ingredients used for restoratives and ailment curing for humans and pokemon.

As we reached the caves entrance it became quiet, much quieter then we originally were... I guess in a way it felt as if we were being watched or about to face something dangerous inside, a feeling of dread possibly, I'm not really sure. Anyway, as we entered the cave one by one we noticed that the interior was bright enough for us to see further inside as if there were some light source nearby that shined down upon us.

"Kwah!" a voice shrieked startling us revealing itself to be a Zubat. "Minccino, use Pound." Minccino jumped off of Sakura and charged directly at Zubat hitting it but knocked it out in one strike.

"A Zubat, let's be careful, there could be more of them." Isaac stated as we both transcended down the caverns of the cave each with a pokemon beside us; Sakura with Minccino running alongside her, Isaac with Ampharos and myself with Lugia feeling as if this is a good time to help Lugia gain some EXP and learn how to battle.

We then heard more of the Zubat's directly above us, "Lugia, let's go." Lugia who had grown significantly in the last few days was once the size of a 14 inch TV now chest high. Lugia's only move were Fly after attempting to mimic a pokemon on TV use it back at the center in driftveil.

"Lugia, use Fly." Lugia lifted up from the ground and soared high up towards the ceiling of the cave, the Zubat watched as Lugia flew off quickly and attempted to go after it. Surprisingly Lugia flew right back down and slammed into the Zubat injuring it.

"Kweh!" It shrieked as it bit down on Lugia's right wing using the move bite. Lugia cried out in pain as small trinkets of blood dripped down onto the rock floor. Lugia then used Fly again but instead of heading straight upwards, Lugia flew into the wall with the Zubat crushing it upon impact causing a loud echo as rocks the size of bowling balls came crashing down near us.

Lugia however remained on the wall for a while until it moved away as the Zubat fell down the dark caverns below us. Lugia flew down beside me and shook its feathers from the rubble.

"You did good Lugia." I stroked Lugia's neck as it smiled patting me on the head with the other wing before returning it to its pokeball. "Rest up."

We then encountered more Zubat's the further we went. Some rarely in one encounter, whilst others were multiple battles as each one of us battled them using our pokemon. They weren't a problem, but after each battle again and again we realized that our pokemon despite our many victories against them were tiring out and losing a lot of HP and PP, some gained status effects such as Poison and paralyze.

As we finally reached the deepest section of the cave after what felt like hours. "Look!" Isaac pointed at the ground in front of us, it was the same herb we needed to save Diane. But before we took a step closer we heard a loud, "Yawrhr" (Or something like that.) above us. As our eyes widened we noticed it was a giant Zubat, the very same poekmon that was in the cave before we came to Icirrus. Unlike before, the Zubat wasn't with the others this time and battled us by itself.

"It's saying something," Isaac spoke as he looked up at it, "It says, 'I remember you three. You are the same intruders that destroyed my home. Now that you have entered my new home, I shall kill you here and now by myself.'" The Zubat once again screeched causing all of us to cover our ears as best we could as it opened its large mouth and flew down to strike us at the same time.

Minccino used pound as she jumped up at the incoming Zubat but the Zubat used the move Venoshock directly at Minccino causing her to forcefully hit the ground beneath her clutching her chest and coughing slightly.

"Minccino," Sakura ran up to Minccino and knelt beside her. "Are you okay?" Minccino was coughing up a small amount of blood as tears ran down her face; her gray fur was almost white and appeared to be sweating. Sakura then returned Minccino to her ball and called out her last pokemon Marill.

The Zubat facing Isaac's Ampharos used screech and immediately used Bite on Ampharos. As the fangs of Zubat reached Ampharos' chest she didn't flinch or gasped out in pain, instead she clenched her eyes shut as she used Thunder wave hitting the Zubat as it let go of her and flew back slightly dizzy.

"Kwah!" The Zubat Shrieked again and in its advantage it used steel wing against Ampharos defeating her as she fell to the ground. Dewott still with a good amount of HP but along with Growlithe and Marill they all had status ailments like poison and paralyze.

The Zubat used Steel Wing again hitting all three afflicted with paralyze preventing them from moving. After it had stopped attacking the Zubat shrieked a little as it became paralyzed.

"Marill, use Surf." Sakura commanded as Marill summoned from the ground a large wave of water and struck the giant Zubat. "Growlithe, quickly use flamethrower." Growlithe's mouth glowed red for a little while until it opens its maw wide and breathed out a large wave of fire at the Zubat defeating the giant Zubat as it fell down the dark caverns below hearing the shrieking from it echo throughout the cave below.

After defeating the giant Zubat we grabbed the herb along with a few others and returned to the city and back to the medical center where the mother and Samantha waited for us with the herb. It took a while for the doctor to create the cure and to apply it to Diane, treating her wounds. We were waiting in the waiting room of the center to find out if the young girl had recovered; she did in the end.

 **4 Hours Later**

Isaac, Sakura, and I waited patiently inside of Diane's room; Maxine sat down beside her daughter holding her hand. Dewott and Minccino sat together at the end of the bed quietly talking amongst one another. Their voices were the only things in the room that take over the loud ticking of a clock somewhere in the room.

Suddenly, both Dewott and Minccino stopped talking as everyone in the room noticed Diane was waking up.

"M-mom… m-mommy?" Diane groaned as she searched the room for her mother as sat leaned towards Diane from her seat, smiling with tears in her eyes. "I'm here sweetie. Everything is alright." Maxine got up from her seat and hugged her kissing her forehead.

Not long after, Maxine then turned to face us, and with a smile she said "Thank you, *sniff* t-thank you so much." Hearing those words; I remembered when I read in a magazine long ago about how Savior members protect and help those in need, to become a hero. This is the reason I joined in the first place. No words were said after that, no random joke or one liner, just a smile and a nod; we had already done what was needed in the city.

As for the giant Zubat, the city or anyone within the Unova region never saw any signs of a giant Zubat again. Travellers from around the world sometimes visited the caves near Icirrus City, but all they found were regular sized Zubat's and nothing else. But sometimes within dark caves, travellers can sometimes hear the same loud shriek that we heard on that day when we battled it long ago.

To be continued...

Trivia:

This Chapter was inspired on an anime I watched a few years ago (I can't remember the name of it) it had the protagonist helping a village curing something to help everyone get back to normal after being poisoned (something like that).


	21. Chapter 21 Golett's Story

Chapter 21 - Golett's Story

Somewhere within Route 08 Midday 20 years ago

Route 08, this route was the path between Icirrus city and the tubeline bridge. Most say Route 08 20 years ago was slightly different than it was back then, but for one pokemon, route 08 was home to it and its friend.

Golett, the automaton pokemon had been growing up with its friend Mienfoo ever since they first met at a young age. Golett like Mienfoo are both young adults and have never left the route ever since and never plan on leaving. Mienfoo, the martial arts pokemon is a female and for some time has taken a liking to Golett, but Golett was born like any other Goletts, golett is genderless and cannot breed with another but understands Mienfoo's feelings and cannot love her back.

Mienfoo one morning with Golett where walking towards the nearby river that harbours many Magikarp within and plenty of berries to consume. Golett however didn't eat anything or drink, but likes to watch Mienfoo eat to pass the time.

"So golett," Mienfoo happily said as they walked towards the river, "I've been thinking about a few things recently and i... hm..." Golett still walking looks over to her, "Is everything alright Mienfoo?"

Mienfoo shrugs, "I feel as if- no, it's like we don't see our friends anymore, it's like they have vanished for some reason." Golett thought about this and also noticed this too, Golett hadn't seen their friends, Noctowl, Nidorina, Houndour, Sudowoodo anywhere for the past week, this was strange since they always appeared on the very same path they where walking through towards the lake this time of day.

"Do you think they moved on?" Mienfoo asked as she picked up a small brach and used it as a sword jumping on a fallen log and parrying and striking at the air. "Perhaps they are unwell or maybe they decided to go somewhere else for a change?" Mienfoo stopped what she was doing and threw the stick into the bushes and ran back over to Golett continuing to walk to the river.

"It's not like them to do that, they would've said something to us or the others might've mentioned it by now." Mienfoo replied as they could hear the stream of the river up front.

As the duo finally reach the river, Mienfoo runs over to the berry bush and picks some off and eats them. Golett walks over to the fallen log near the river and watches the water to look for a Magikarp or two.

5 minutes... no Magikarp

5 more minutes...nothing but leaves floating in the water

10 minutes later... nothing.

This confused Golett as route 08s river was well known for having a large amount of Magikarp swimming around. Even the pokemon that lived in the forest always came here, but as Golett looked up, Golett only saw Mienfoo sitting near the bush and itself alone, not even a pokemon nearby called out or cried, it was as if they were the only ones in the forest.

" _Mienfoo sure is taking time to eat those berries."_ Golett thought as it looked over at Mienfoo still sitting near the bush with a large amount of berries in front of her. Just then, Golett's eyes caught something in the river, it was small rubber beach ball floating in the river, the ball looked exactly like a voltorb which Golett assumed it was a real pokemon. _"A ball? A voltorb? Never saw a voltorb float in the river like that before."_ Golett stood up and watched the ball float down the stream.

A few more minutes passed by and Golett stood watching upstream wandering if anymore pokemon would float down or anything at all besides leaves... nothing did. With a sigh, Golett looked over at Mienfoo still sitting down near the berries motionless. Golett walked over to Mienfoo and noticed she hadn't eaten anymore of the berries, "Are the berries alright Mienfoo?" Golett asked but got no response, "Did you eat that hot berry this time?" Golett laughed as it placed its hand on her shoulder. Mienfoo then fell to the ground and that is when Golett noticed, Mienfoo's mouth was dripping with blood, in her right paw were a few berries half eaten.

"Mienfoo? Are you alright?" Golett asked again as it lightly shook her, but like before it still got no response.

 ***Snap!***

Startled, Golett turned around as it heard a noise from the otherside of the river. Golett waited, the silence became unsettling to it so it returned to Mienfoo still lying on the ground. Golett felt for a pulse on her neck, one second; no pulse. Two seconds; nothing. Third; ... as the fifth second approached to what felt like something sharp had pierced Golett into its heart, Golett teared up. "No! M-Mienfoo." Golett lightly shook Mienfoo knocking over a few of the berries out of her paw.

"M-M-Mienfoo? P-Please... w-wake u-up!" Golett's voice cracked as it cried desperately for Mienfoo to open her eyes and the two could go back to their home together like every day since they decided to live with one another, but Mienfoo remained lifeless. Golett shook again and again hoping that the next shake would wake her up... until it hit Golett, Golett realised why Mienfoo was lying on the ground dead, the berries she consumed earlier were poisoned. A few weeks ago when they actually had conversations with another pokemon, the Noctowl who was an old friend of theirs and was looked up to as their mentor or perhaps in a way a grandfather figure of the route.

Noctowl taught them many things. Things like how to survive in the wild, what to and not to eat, how to roam through the wild without alerting trainers to your presence. Noctowl taught the dup a lot of things needed to survive the wild, even hunters. Noctowl Mentioned that there were hunters spotted at the edge of the route setting up traps and killing pokemon they came across, even poisoning certain things like food and drinking water. Golett and Mienfoo after hearing of the hunters convinced themselves after all these years after not having a horrible thing happen to them that it would stay like that until they die of old age. Golett asked itself why it didn't know sooner that it were the hunters that were either killing their friends or taking them away from here.

Golett wiped its tear from its eyes before it placed its hand on mienfoo's head before leaving the river to return back home where it stayed in the cave for one year before leaving. "All of my friends are gone... all except me..." Golett whispered almost hearing its echo throughout the cave. Some days Golett would return to the river where Mienfoo died, but never to the exact location of her death refusing to see her remains left. Golett as the years passed by would return to previous locations such as Noctowls tree the dup used to go as young pokemon to hear stories of Noctowls training years with his trainer, Nidorina's playful games from helping each other build sand castles to building forts out of large leaves, wooden planks left by campers and torn sheets as a makeshift flags. All of these places where still here, but those that Golett used to know where gone.

Golett stayed within the route alone for many years hiding from people and pokemon alike believing that those that interacted with it would disappear as well.

 **Present day**

" _The rain was heavier today than last month"_ Golett thought to itself as it listened in on the rain as it echoed throughout the cave. Suddenly Golett opened its eyes as a beam of light entered its cave, this light was from a flashlight being held by Isaac and all of us ran inside the cave to shelter from the rain.

"That rain came out of nowhere..." Sakura gasped for air as she passed the flashlight to Minccino shining the light further into the cave almost touching Golett as it watched us cautiously. "its a good thing we found this cave." Dewott however stayed outside the cave and soaked up the rain being a water pokemon, lee mentioned a while ago that poekmon enjoy being in habitats of their own type and is good for them to get stronger.

"Huh?" Isaac looked up as he saw the Golett sitting down at the far end of the cave. "Hey look, it's a Golett." As we both looked back, the Golett flinched a little and clenched both of its hands. Isaac slowly approached it and knelt down, "My name is Isaac, I can understand pokemon speech, we do not mean you any harm." The Golett then looked at both of us then back at Isaac. It hands unclenched, "We only want shelter from the rain. We promise we will leave once the rain has settled down." The Golett was convinced that we were not a threat and let us stay inside its cave, we stayed near the entrance while the Golett remained at the far end of the cave.

Most of our poekmon were out of their pokeballs eating some food. Totodile, Yamask, Minccino and Growlithe were piling up a few of the rocks they collected to make like a cairn of some sort, Dewott remained outside in the rain and glanced at Latias from time to time who was among the others eating a few small berries.

Lugia since it was small enough to fit inside the cave was sitting almost as the back near the Golett watched as the pokemon gave up with building the pile and approached the Golett.

 **Latias' pov**

After eating the small berries Zack handed to me earlier i noticed the others, except Ampharos sleeping on the uncomfortable rocks with, Marill and Chikorita in between Lugia Ampharos walk towards the Golett. I got up and joined them curious as to what they were approaching the Golett for.

"Hi." Totodile said as he walked up greeting the Golett, "my name is Totodile, what's your name?" the Golett looked at him for a few seconds before turning to us as we awaited for it to answer. "Golett, that is my name." Goletts voice... despite goletts not having any gender it sounded like the Golett had a masculine voice of some kind... it's kind of difficult to describe to be honest... sorry.

"Do you live alone in this cave?" asked Minccino who i just noticed was standing beside me, "Yes, i have lived alone for quite some time now." All of us sighed with relief as soon as the Golett started to talk with us. What we have learned from the Golett is that it has lived in the cave for a long time without any interaction.

"Why don't you get much interaction?" i asked the Golett who in turn shook its head lightly. With goletts it was hard to determine what their expression is since they never change. Goletts have been known to cry when upset and blush when complimented by others.

Golett was then asked by Yamask, "Hey, about you come with us?" the Golett looked up as Yamask said that but then shook its head again and said, "Of all the pokemon i knew, all were killed or taken away from me. I'm just bad luck." All of us were silent as we heard this, after a few seconds that passed by, Lugia behind us said, "You're not bad luck." The Golett looked over at Lugia as we did the same. We then asked it one by one to join us, not in a weird creepy way but a friendly way.

The Golett then looked down before giving us its answer, "I accept, but i ask to only be accepted temporarily for i do not know if this is the choice i truly want." We agreed and told the 'Weird one' (Isaac) about what we talked about with the Golett so Zack and Sakura were informed.

I watched as Zack, and the other two talk amongst themselves about the Golett and who should accept it into their team. As it turned out it was my trainer Zack that decided to accept Golett into the team. Zack walked up to Golett and knelt down in front of it.

 **Normal POV**

"The others told me that you wanted to come with only temporarily? And that you wanted to decide if it is what you want?" i asked as the Golett nodded. "My name is Zack Raines, welcome to the team Golett." I smiled as i brought out Golett's pokeball and lightly tapped it on its head. With a few seconds of shaking a loud 'ding' noise was heard then a click as the capture had been successful.

Later that night i brought out Golett again were it was welcomed to the team. They even talked to Golett about our past events such as assassination attempts, saving people and battling the undead whilst fighting an evil organization. The pokemon again attempted at making cairns, some even as big as Dewott before falling down. Golett watched as its new team played together and told stories amongst themselves. Golett happy that this sight was as if it had gone back in time to the moment when its friends were still around.

As the morning arrived, we woke up about at 9 as we left the cave to tubeline bridge, Golett walked out of the cave with us but looked back once more at its home before leaving route 08.

To be continued...

Trivia

Golett was originally a Regirock, but because Zack has 2 legendaries i didn't want to give him too many in his party. The choice of Golett came into place after playing black to look for a Rogenrolla, but then i found a Golett, i caught it but my choice for using Golett for Zack's party didn't happen until Golett evolved into Golurk.


	22. Chapter 22 Inside

**AU:Alright then, just finished this along with 23, 24 and 25 so far, they'll be up sometime soon either this or next week. Please enjoy chapter 22.**

Chapter 22 - Inside

We had now approached Tubeline Bridge, a bridge were hundreds upon hundreds pass by to go to work, meet friends or find places to live all passing through the bridge on the train every half hour day and night. A few cars passed by us as we walked on the bridge nearing halfway. There was a small building there that read 'Free boat ride tour.' That interested us as we all decided to go on it.

The stairs leading down to the boat below the brige wasn't open for another 10 minutes so we had to wait with the other people that wanted to go on the boat tour. At the gift shop me and Sakura talked about a few things really.

"So Sakura," i asked as we left the gift shop and waited by the railings leading out towards the ocean below. "Have you given any thought about what you wanted to do for a career yet?" Sakura helped Minccino look over the rails as she stared in awe, but sakura shook her head.

"Not yet... travelling with you i thought about a lot of things, things like... just family things, t-that's all." Sakura then became saddened as she stared off into the horizon ahead of us, i knew something was troubling her, but i didn't say anything feeling as if it wasn't my place and didn't want to seem intrusive.

"Zack, your path with the Saviors, don't take it the wrong way but, is this the path you want?" As soon as Sakura asked me that i thought about it as i looked at the water below and replied, "Ever since i were young... i guess you can say that i didn't have a good childhood at school." Sakura looked up at me, "Who hasn't."

"I wanted to join the saviours for one reason, to be that someone people look for in times of need, whenever you are ganged up on and overthrown, when someone looks down on others and makes you feel that no one on this planet will help, i want to stop that, i wanted to become a hero." I paused for a moment.

"I've wanted to become a hero ever since i were young, i've never thought about relationships such as friends or starting a family, ever since i meet Oshawott, you and the others that has changed, changed in a way i wonder if the saviours is my path." There was one thing i never told her that day or anyone about what my true goal was in life; I wanted to join the saviours to find out who i truly was, i wanted to find my purpose of being on this planet and i thought the saviors was the best way to prove my worth.

"Anyway, let's go wait with Isaac until we can go on the boat." Sakura then smiled as she picked up Minccino walking towards the waiting area with the other people. Dewott who i just noticed standing beside me leaning against the rail but starring at a young woman drinking coffee on a bench.

The wait was over after a 10 minute delay with the boats engine, the captain allowed all guests to get on the boat. There were about 5 of us excluding the captain who also steered the small boat. The captain was about in his late 50s, bald head but covered by a black cap with the words 'WC' imprinted on the front in white. He had a small beard and was slightly tanned and wore blue shorts, white shirt and blue jacket with rolled up sleeves to his elbow. He wore sandals both different colored, his left was white and the other black.

The boat far off into the ocean the boat started going much faster and into the deeper parts of the waters. Sitting down on one of the boats benches i noticed Latias looking over the water as some splashed onto her giggling every time it happened. Dewott sitting next to me at the time also starred at her but with admiration.

"What the hell is that!?" One of the passengers shouted gaining our attention to the man pointing out towards the sea. Looking over all of us saw something large swimming at high speed right at us.

"What is that?" said a woman as she stood next to a man who was shaking and didn't respond. The large thing appeared out of water revealing itself as a Wailord opening its mouth wide open ready to engulf us.

"Hang on!" the captain shouted as he tried to avoid the Wailord, but then it happened. Sudden darkness surrounded us then silence as a loud crash echoed throughout my ears. My arms, legs, even my entire body was hit by something every second some worse than the previous hit.

I must've blacked out for a while since the Wailord attacked. I woke up wet, cold, and with a slight headache. For a moment there i thought i was dead and this was it after life. Moving both my hands towards my head i took one breathe imediatly coughing after at how bad the air was, it smelt like death, rotting a smell so vile that the only way i could breathe was through my mouth and cover my nose the best i could. Grabbing the saviors device from the i attempted a few times at the 'On' switch to light up the place.

As the screen lit up i used it to look everywhere the light could shine on. The ground was a light gray-red color and slightly soft and wet like a bad mattress. Looking at the devices screen i saw at the top right 'No signal' displayed.

Suddenly i heard a low groan from the darkness, i then shinned the light back towards the darkened area to find the source of the noise. Standing up trying to find some balance, i moved closer unarmed only with the device to light my way hoping that whatever is making that noise wasn't dangerous.

I heard the groaning again but this time i recognised it, "Latias?" i called out awaiting for a response only to hear nothing after. Walking closer and closer where i heard the groaning i saw a large pile of debris from the boat. Approaching the debris i then saw Latias underneath most of it covered in blood, "Latias!" i knelt down beside her lightly touching her head.

Latias' face and entire body was covered in cuts and a few bruises. Her HP was critically low, it was a good thing i had some potions to help with her injuries. Latias after treating her wounds settled down a few minutes the potions 'sting' effect ended.

Latias resting her head on my lap as i sat down as i searched through my bag for any supplies such as food and potions. _"Okay, i have an apple, sandwich, a few berries and a juice drink."_ The food i had wasn't going to be enough to last long inside the Wailord, looking around my surroundings using the devices light all of the area was the same color with a few holes and bone.

"La...ah." Latias cooed as she lightly tugged on my shirt gaining my attention. Latias appeared scared; she was also crying but tried to hide it by blinking fast and looking away. I then stroked the back of her neck like she always liked when i did and stopped crying. _"I wonder what happened to the others, i hope they are alright."_

 **Sakura's POV**

"Ah! My head- umph!" i woke up disgusted by the horrid smell and also in pain as my head was pounding like crazy, i felt sick and i couldn't see anything in the dark.

"D-Dewott? Dew?" i heard Dewott in front of me, close as i heard him again call out. "Dewott? Are you there?" i reached out my hands in front of me hoping to touch Dewott, but the more i didn't feel anything made me feel more anxious than i was. Then i felt something damp and warm touch my arm, it was Dewott's paw touching me. With my other hand i touched his paw and asked him if he was alright. Kneeling down to Dewott's level he tried to tell me something important, Dewott grabbed my hand and made me touch his leg. Dewott's leg was wetter than his fur, i then began to press further until Dewott winced in pain making me realise that dewott's leg had been cut.

I couldn't see anything in this darkness, my bag had a few potions and pther status curing bottles inside, but since they are the same shape as each other it is hard to tell them apart so i had to carry him. Dewott really wasn't that heavy, he was lighter than i originally thought.

Walking slowly reaching my free hand out i managed to find a wall, solid like a bone. From there i didn't know which way i should go, so i just walked to the left still touching the wall. I felt lost in the darkness scared that i wouldn't find a way out or anyone else in there.

Walking still i saw something, it was a light from the corner. Walking further, the light was in fact from fire surrounded by three people that i recognised from the boat. It was the captain with a cloth around his arm and the man and woman on the boat with us.

"Hey!" i called out gaining their attention as the light from the fire illuminated me and Dewott as we approached. "Is everyone alright?"

"Alright?" the man asked looking displeased clenching his fist. "You call this alright? We're inside a damned Wailord that swallowed us whole, how is this alright damn it!?" the woman sitting beside him placed a hand on his shoulder, "Earl, please calm down. Shouting won't get us anywhere."

The captain looked over at us and offered us a seat next to him. Sitting down he put more small pieces of wood into the fire. "I was the first to wake up, from looking around recently i discovered that this was indeed the wailords mouth." the captain said as he looked around the area. Realizing then that the 'bone' from before was probably the teeth of the Wailord due to how close we were from it. "It's strange how this Wailord is so beat up on the inside. It's like it drank acid or something seeing all the flesh like this."

"Excuse me sir, have you seen my other friends? Zack and Isaac?" i asked as Dewott looked up. The captain shook his head, "I'm sorry i couldn't find your friends, these two were the only ones i found nearby." Looking over at the fire i wondered what happened to Minccino and hoped she was alright.

 **Isaac's POV – Unknown area inside the Wailord**

Luckily i had a flashlight in this darkness, this damp, smelly darkness that almost made me throw up 3 times. I was with Minccino and after releasing Growlithe from his pokeball helped me build a torch from wooden planks and cloth.

"Isaac?" Minccino asked as she stepped towards me as we stood up, "where do you think we should look to find the others?"

"I'm not sure." Looking over at the darkness in all directions, i heard the sounds of possibly the Wailord speaking, but it was too muffled for me to pick up anything. We must've sat there for a while after anyone of us spoke to one another.

 **Shriek!**

Startled, i looked up as i saw something approach us from the darkness. It was human in appearance but it had three arms, one on one die and two on another. As it entered the light i could see its face more clearly. The human was in fact an animated corpse. This corpse like the others had the same rotting flesh and zombie-like appearance.

Growlithe growled standing in front of me ready to attack the corpse. Minccino stood beside him also ready to attack. The corpse shireks loudly echoing throughout the area raising its arms jaw wide open. This sacred both Minccino and Growlithe as they stepped back a little.

"Growlithe use flamewheel!" i ordered as Growlithe began to glow and rolled towards the corpse hitting it on the legs, but the corpse remained standing. "Minccino, use Pound!" i gave Minccino the command to attack homing this would cause the corpse to fall back allowing us more time and an advantage to defeating the corpse.

Minccino jumped up and used Pound into the corpses face forcing its head to fall back. Suddenly the corpse began to spin in place extending its arms hitting both Growlithe and Minccino multiple times, but these hits didn't inflict too much damage as their HP was still in the green.

"Growlithe, Ember!" Growlithe used ember at the torso of the corpse forcing the corpse to step back a few steps, but it wasn't enough since the corpse didn't seem affected by anything we attacked it with, _"What's up with this thing? All of the attacks are doing nothing, but why? It must have a weakness."_ I asked myself as i glared at the corpse as it stood there waving its arms in the air realising it was... smiling all this time.

"Minccino, use Double slap!" Minccino jumped up towards the corpses face and began to slap one, two then three times. The corpse after being slapped attempted to swipe at Minccino with one of its arms, but she saw the arms and evaded with ease allowing Growlithe to bite the leg of the corpse forcing it ot the ground.

While on the ground, i noticed on the back of the corpse was an orange glow, _"it's back? Why is it like that?"_ i then commanded Minccino to used pound at the orange glow repeating in my head, "Of cause it's not a weakness." As soon as Minccino attacked the orange glow, the corpse began to shriek loudly causing all three of us to cover our ears.

The sound was so loud that even covering our ears seemed as if it weren't enough. Then after a few seconds more of its shrieking it stopped and fell to the ground as the orange glow at its back exploded. The corpse then began to dissolve into the ground leaving us alone once more.

"A corpse?" Minccino questioned as she watched the last of the remaining corpse flesh dissolve. "Wait, the rotting flesh everywhere, the corpse just now, does that mean this Wailord we are inside is an animated corpse?" Minccino was right, it would explain the rotting flesh everywhere and exposed bones. _"But why were there animated corpses inside the Wailord? Some kind of trap if the Wailord should swallow anything alive?"_ I then picked up the makeshift torch. Walking towards the darkness with both Minccino and Growlithe we set off to find the others hoping they were safe.

 **Normal POV**

Getting up from that area, we walked out into the darkness with the device with our only light source. The device still had about 30% battery power left so we had about a few hours left before darkness would engulf us again. Latias was levitating behind me but on a slower pace since most of her injuries had not healed yet.

As we walked further and further into the darkness, it was as if we had entered a large labyrinth due to the large amounts of debris from ships, there were even smaller ships (yachts probably. I'm not much of a ship expert) almost intact.

"Lah?" Latias said quietly as i looked back at her. Latias' eyes were drooping and slightly red. Checking Latias' stats she didn't have any ailments. Her HP was about 70%, her PP for most of her moves were completely gone, except psychic, protect and mist ball all with either 5 or less uses left.

" _Maybe i shouldn't have moved yet... but we can't stay here. Latias needs help..."_ Thinking over of what i should've done, i then stood there thinking about always making sure or having potions and full heals for things like this. Latias nudged me with her forehead and pointed towards one of the top of a ship. I saw something up there but it was too dark to see anything. Latias then slowly levitated towards the ship as i followed as what we saw above the ship became clearer, it was smoke.

As we both turned the corner we could see light as we found ourselves reunited with Sakura, Dewott, the captain and the two other passengers. "Zack!" Sakura stood up and ran over to us as we approached the warm fire and set Latias down on a dry large sheet. "Are you alright?" she asked, i told her about how Latias was badly injured and needed some more potions and rest before setting off again.

Sakura asked if i had seen Isaac or Minccino out there, but i shook my head and told her that we didn't see anyone. Sakura sat down and helped me treat Latias' wounds and fully restore her HP before returning her back to her pokeball. Dewott ever since Latias returned kept a close eye on Latias, he wanted to get up and comfort her but his leg was still healing up and couldn't move much. Sakura and i would go back out there to find Isaac and Minccino so we could then find a way out of the pokemon before we either starved to death or got some kind of infection for being inside this rotting mouth for this long. As soon as we got ready, we left Latias and Dewott to stay behind to watch over the captain and the two passengers. As we had left the area, the captain watching the fire as it crackles, he then thinks to himself something that had been on his mind for a while, _"A Wailord... n-no, it's not possible."_ The Captain then looked up at Latias as she was talking to Dewott who had a slight blush on his face. The captain then looked back at the two passengers as they held each other in close embrace coughing every so often.

As we walked through the dark tunnels, Sakura brought out Marill, and i released Golett as they walked along side us. The sounds from the outside echoed inside the mouth not in a relaxing tone like i heard on the internet and tv a few times, but in an eerie kind of way. Whilst passing certain wooden planks from the piles of debris we passed, the shadows formed into shapes that resembled hands or faces.

A few minutes passed as we walked down the tunnel that seemed to never end, until we reached an open area, unlike the area i woke up in were i couldn't see the roof, here we could. In the area we saw a large, orange, glowing pulsing heart, but no noise was heard from it as it moved. The wall we came from appeared to have been cut by something.

"Guys!" Isaac shouted as he appeared behind the heart where there was another hole as he, Growlithe and Minccino walked out from. Sakura ran up to Minccino and picked her up hugging her.

"Are you alright Minccino?" Minccino smiled and nodded saying she was. I then noticed as Growlithe looked up at Isaac and gave a nod before Isaac spoke. "This Wailord, it's an animated corpse, we saw a human=like one back there a while ago but we defeated it." Sakura stood up carrying Minccino and Marill. "A corpse? How awful..."

It was at that moment we looked at the heart still pulsing but silent. The Wailord from outside would've been difficult to fight due to its massive size. But since we are faced to face with its heart, attacking it would inflict critical damage to the Wailord, allowing us some time to escape. The teeth of the Wailord was strong and stabbing at the gums recently didn't do anything, not even a budge.

"Growlithe, get ready." Isaac told his pokemon as it stood in front of the heart ready to attack. "Minccino, Marill, here we go." Both Marill and Minccino all jumped out of Sakura's arms as they got into combat stances ready to attack the heart. "Ready Golett?" Golett walked in front of me and raised its fists saying, "Gol!" after getting into a stance.

"Growlithe use-" Isaac was cut off as a loud shrieking was heard all around us. From the tunnels came rushing out a large amount of small Aridos like creatures as they gathered around us from the tens to what now appeared to be about a hundred surrounding us all. The creatures were completely black, not a trace of any there color was present on them.

"Golett, use Earthquake!" Golett raised both fists and punched the ground as hard as it could as the ground shook damaging many creatures nearby. Minccino and Marill both evaded the Earthquake as the attack almost hit them. As they were in the air, Marill used Bubblebeam on a few targets, one or two of them seemed fazed by the attack. Minccino used double slap as she attacked one single creature. Growlithe used ember as it damaged multiple enemies, but Growlithe didn't focus on one section for too long as enemies from behind were closing in. The heart still beating was left unprotected, i had to go for it and ordered Golett to quickly use Shadow punch directly at the heart. Golett focused its attack and punched as hard as it could at the heart. The heart moved quickly but then began to beat faster this time followed by the entire ground and surrounding area to shake a little.

"Zack, me and Isaac will take care of these things, attack the heart." Sakura said as Minccino, Marill and Growlithe attacked the creatures that got too close or seemed as if they were about to attack at any minute. "Keep at it Golett." Golett nodded once and began to focus yet another strike at the heart with a shadow punch again and again as the shaking around the area became stronger.

Growlithe was suddenly scratched on the neck by one of the creatures as more of them attempted to overthrow Growlithe by attaking him all at once, but Marill used Scald at them forcing them off of Growlithe. Minccino stepped forward slightly and used Hyper voice, the attack caused most of the enemies to move around in pain, not one of them moved forward to attack. This seemed like a good strategy, but it also left Marill and Growlithe also affect by the Hyper voice.

Golett was punching at the heart every 3 seconds with a loud ***Slam*** until...

 **Crunch!**

Golett had punched through into the heart, it arm almost completely in but pulled back. Silence as all of the creatures froze in place. Without warning, a loud booming noise was heard throughout the area and the creatures exploded one after the other as the walls and ground started to dissolve slowly. The ground shook as if an earthquake had begun. All of us fell over as the shaking continued the creatures close to all of us never attacked. The shaking lessened as all of us managed to stand up again.

"C'mon, let's get out of here!" Isaac shouted as he recalled Growlithe back into the ball. Calling back Golett into its pokeball we all ran out the way where we had come from towards the others. The ground, the surface of the flesh had dissolved and left a few holes in the flesh. The debris also began to dissolve allowing us a shortcut or two down the tunnel of debris and rotting flesh.

Where we last left Latias, Dewott, the passengers and the captain we approached them as they appeared to be unharmed. "What's happening!?" shouted the man as the Wailord shrieked loudly opening its mouth slightly letting in light before closing again but not completely.

"C'mon, we got to get out of here!" i shouted as i began to pick up Dewott out of the mouth now wide open as it began to shriek louder. Latias levitated with me as, Isaac, Sakura and the others followed closely behind as we stepped over the broken tooth as it dissolved like the rest of the Wailord, an incisor most likely. As we managed to climb over the lower lip which wasn't that difficult we saw land in front of us, from where i was it looked like a small beach.

All six of us jumped off the lip and into the ocean below and swam quickly to shore which would take like about 5 minutes. Latias holding onto my bag as i was in the water to help me get to shore faster. "Cinno!" Minccio cried as she almost let go of Sakura. Dewott then began to spit out some of the water with disgust as it entered his mouth a few times.

As we reached the shore, the tide threw us onto the sand face first. Latias lifted me up and shook me slightly. After opening my eyes, Latias smiled and hugged me, "Lah, laah!" Dewott at the side of us coughed and then spit the taste of the water out of his mouth.

Isaac and sakura approached the shore shortly after i had reached it. The others followed after witht he man and woman running towards the trees away from the water.

"Is everyone alright?" the captain asked as he got up, but as soon as he said that, the Wailord still out in the ocean was almost skeletal, its face however wasn't complety gone. The wailords eyes like the corpses were lifeless and its skin was rotted. There was also a large scar across its face, this however got the attention of the captain.

The captain stood further towards the ocean at the Wailord and gasped. He looked at the Wailord, mouth slightly open as his hands slightly tremble. "S-S-Sammy?" the Wailord's face had almost faded completely and it cried out once more, quieter but calmer.

The captain then attempted to swim back out to the Wailord, but he stopped as he looked once more at the Wailord and said, "That Wailord... it is like those things that attacked Castelia city a while back, right?" standing up as i walked over to him i said it was. The captain then faced me and grabbed both of my shoulders sobbing.

"Help her! Please, that's what the saviours does right? They help others that need help." The captain then clenched his eyes shut, "Please save her, *sobs* d-don't let her die like this... s-sammy w-would never h-hurt anyone... *sniff* p-please..."

Looking back up at the Wailord as it had almost become skeletal, i wished i could help his Wailord. I wished... but there was nothing that could be done to save an animated corpse, nothing to change them back to who they once were. I told him this expecting him to plead to do something and offered as much money as they wanted, but instead he let go of my shoulders and looked back as the Wailord gave one last cry as it completely dissolved.

Isaac gasped, sakura looked at him, "Isaac, what's wrong?" Isaac stared to where the Wailord once was and said, "t-the animated- the Wailord said before it died, was 'William.'" The captain looked over at Isaac then back at the ocean, "William... that's my name." William looked around the beach and said, "Long ago when Sammy was a wailmer, she and i explored different regions together. One day when i was about a teenager, i was a week to enter college. I released Sammy into the ocean and promised her that we would be together again after i finished with college and go explore the regions-" Willaim stopped, he then sniffed and continued, "l-like we used to. When i returned i then discovered that Sammy went missing. Everyday i would sail my boat and hope that one day she would swim alongside my boat... but she never did."

William wiped his tears from his eyes and said, "Those Annihilation bastards, stop them, make sure they never do anything like this again."

It was a few minutes later that the cleanup crew arrived and an ambulance to check all of us out for any infection or injuries we may had. As for us three, we were cleared of any infection and were free to go. Annihilation had done many horrible things in the past, killing people in major cities with their armies, slaughtering towns and using the dead as an army was seen as horrific and cruel. As we walked i hoped that one day the saviours could find annihilation and together we could defeat them and bring justice to unova once more.

To be continued...

Special Message 02/03

Subject Annihilation Machine?

To Clark Stone

Sender Hillary Turner

Time 1:13 PM

Date August 7th 2018

Clark

I have some information for you about a new weapon Team Annihilation. From our resources we have gathered Intel on Team Annihilations new weapon, it has taken them nearly 10 years to build because of its immense power. We do not yet know what it is built for but our spy found out that this new machine is a weapon and near to completion . Sadly to say but our spy was killed a week ago, the spy whose name i cannot reveal yet gave us information on the location of base of the machines construction; Unova. We will be sending some of my members to join your branch until Team Annihilation has been dealt with.

Clark, please don't ignore me, I'm trying my best to help you here. If you're still angry about our separation from the team then. Please be careful out there, Team Annihilation is dangerous, so don't go dying on us.

END OF MESSAGE


	23. Chapter 23 Cold Memories

**AN: I Forgot to mention about this story, it's supposed to be like a realistic view of the pokemon world in terms of what groups of people calling themselves for example; team A or team B would do to survive or attempt to take over a set region or the world.**

 **Also a message from someone who has asked to be anonymous, i will allow ocs into the story, so should ya'll come up with anything, feel free to create some for the story.**

 **And of cause, thanks for the reviews. Enjoy the chapter.**

Chapter 23 - Cold Memories

A few hours after cleaning our clothes and getting a hot shower at the nearby center to get rid of the smell from the Wailord recently, we were now arriving at the mountain new route 9 and near to Opelucid city, the location we had to take Chikorita back to her trainer.

The mountain we approached was a common route for many trainers and locals to pass through for many reasons; to catch a few pokemon, for the sight sighing located near to the top of the mountain, or just to reduce about 10 minutes off to reach route 9. We would've taken the longer path to route 09 if we only knew about one thing about this mountain; the constant snow storms it attracts.

"Dew, dewott dew." Dewott said as he hung onto my shoulder, Isaac then translated that Dewott was hungry . i then told Dewott that as soon as we reached Opelucid city we would have food. Dewott sighed at this and looked back over his shoulder as the snow began to fall.

Minccino within Sakura's arms began to attempt to catch the snow with her paw as it dropped near her. She managed to catch about 5 or six of them until she gave up after one small piece of snow fell onto her eye.

We had now reached about 20 minutes into walking through the mountain, almost halfway now and neither one of us spoke after Dewott saying he was hungry. It was then i was about to break the silence about what they were going to when we finally reached Opelucid city soon, until i noticed the snow increasing larger and larger as the wind became intense all of a sudden. I was amazed at how much snow there was and the wind was so strong and cold i had to raise my hands to cover my eyes from the freezing wind.

"Guys, h-hang on!" i shouted back towards the others as i closed my eyes to shield from any large snow clumps from going into my eyes. "D-dewott!" Dewott shouted as he held onto my bag as the strong winds began to pick up. Holding Dewott with one of my hands i tried to open them to check on the others... but i couldn't, the snow was too thick for me to see anything.

The storm didn't last long since it began dying down to calm again like it did as we entered the mountain. uncovering my eyes and lowering both of my hands i noticed there were a lot of snow on my head and my shoulders, so i shook it off of me. After the snow was off me, Dewott then opened his eyes and shook the snow off him and wrapped his arms around himself to get warm.

"Are you alright Zack?" Sakura asked as she approached me as i noticed Minccino cleaning Sakura and herself from the snow from their bodies gaining a slight blush from Dewott.

"I'm alright, guess we should've come prepared for this area, huh?" i smiled, but as i did me and Skaura both noticed that Isaac wasn't with us. Looking from left to right a few times we couldn't find Isaac anywhere.

"Isaac? Isaac where are you?" Sakura called out down each of the three paths on the mountain trail, but each path... all were empty and void of life.

"He must've got lost in the snow," i said to Sakura as we walked back to the main path towards route 09. "We should go look for him." As we began down one path, little did we know that Isaac was not anywhere ahead of us. During the storm Isaac didn't head me call out to him and Sakura saying to 'Hang on' Isaac continued walking forward unable to see from the storm down one of the two paths towards route 09.

 **Isaac's POV**

It was so cold i could barely feel the tips of my fingers as i reached out with one hand hoping to touch something that i could hang onto until the storm had passed... *Touch* i felt a hard surface with my hand, feeling it further i realised it was a rock wall of some kind _, "The mountain?"_ i thought as i leaned my face closer and shielded my eyes so i could try to open them to see.

With my eyes now open i was facing the mountain wall, attempting to look towards the path at the side of me i winced in pain as a sharp-like snow shard landed directly into my eye. Keeping my hands on the wall and my eyes tightly shut i walked alongside the wall hoping to find some kind of shelter until the storm ended.

The mountain wall was cold and bumpy as i walked walking further and deeper into the snow, "Whoa!" shocked as my hand pressed against the wall fell forward as if i had reached a sharp corner. Moving my hand further around the corner i felt less cold and snow against my hand. Opening my eye again still cold after the ice shard into my eye i saw a dark cave _"Thank you Arceus."_ I smiled as i entered happy that i could get warm from the cold.

I had been inside the cave for a good 5 minutes before lighting a small abandoned campfire left by travellers a while ago. Growlithe beside me watched the fire in front of him and even attempted to bite some as some caught on his fur slightly, but Growlithe a fire type wouldn't catch fire, i remembered when i was young i thought fire types would get hurt from a fire not made by them.

"Something funny Isaac?" Growlithe asked catching my attention. Growlithe smiled as i looked over at him and replied with, "Nothing much, just things from my younger life."

"Oh that's right, you lived in, what was it? Black city?" as he said that city's name, all i could remember was Juliet, her smile and her voice... _"I won't go back to that hospital, not until i have the money._

 **2 years ago Black City Start of High School – Cafeteria**

Life was different back then, a lot of things have happened within the span of 2 years. I didn't realise it at the time that my life would change as soon as i met her.

I was sitting with my friends Shane and Jake. Jake is a few months older than me and acts as the leader of our small group. He tends to study much more than us and is seen regularly at the library at school after lunch. Jake told me once that he wanted to become a surgeon like his older brother who lived in Kalos for awhile. I didn't know much about he guy other than he was a surgeon whom jake quoted, 'Lives life easily'.

Shane after high school wants to become a guitarist in his band with a few others. Shane wears glasses and has on occasions been asked if he studies all the time in the library. Shane just laughed as people asked him as he replied, 'with my skills and my guitar i would've been banned by now.' Shane has told us that his group has already come up with a band name, either one of the three i can't quite remember; 'Light Strike' 'Electro Currents' or maybe 'The Plug'. I might be naming their song names or something, i can't remember.

"Last year sure is a hassle," Jake said after chewing on a sandwich. "my parents are preparing to move to Hoenn as soon as high school is over, i ain't got time for anything these days." Shane smirked as he ate from a bag of chips.

"'These days' what are you some old bastard?" jake didn't respond, instead he continued eating as we all did in silence. As i ate in silence, from what i could hear in the crowd i picked up things like 'Oh my god, isn't he cute?' 'Shut up man!' 'Look at that mother fucker, let's beat 'em up after.' Looking up at the other students sitting together and eating their food i wondered what paths they would follow, if they would go and further there study's, find a job or something. As for me, i had planned after high school to search the world for the herb that my great-grandmother found that allowed her like my grandmother and me the ability to understand pokemon speech.

My lunch that consisted on a red apple, sandwich, chocolate bar and spaghetti and meatballs i stood up, "I'm going to head to the library for a while. Catch ya later." I said to the two still eating their food as they nod in response or 'uh-huh'

As i got to the library i noticed it was completely empty, no librarian or other student was inside. The sign outside the library door said the area was open all day so i just assumed the librarian was elsewhere as with the students.

The book i chose to read for the remainder of lunch was a book titled 'Herbs of the world' the book contained a lot of known herbs found throughout all of the regions, even those that could create the common Potion for a pokemon and even remedies for humans. This book was a nice read except that this book was 20 years old and obviously outdated.

"Excuse me?" i stopped reading as a young girl, the same age as me approached the desk, her hair blonde and long to the mid back, her eyes a beautiful green.

"Yes?" i replied as i closed the book noticing she had a book similar to the book i was reading. "Is that book, 'Herbs of the world?'"

"That's right." I didn't know what she wanted when she approached, all i knew about her at the time was she was the new girl in my class, she entered Black City High School almost halfway into the school year which was odd as to why she moved to a different school this late.

"I have this book, 'Herbs of the world New edition' if you would like to read it? I have already read this book and i saw you reading that old edition and thought you would like to read the updated version." She revealed the new edition to me as she sat down opposite me. The book was a hardback with the words 'Herbs of the world New edition' in a clean shiny silver that reflected back at me.

I smiled and thanked her accepting the book as she passed it over to me. "Are you studying to become a pokemon nurse also?" she asked staring at me with a smile. "N-no, i uh, i'm trying to find a rare herb that my great-grandmother used when she was younger." Juliet then seemed interested and asked, "Herb? What kind of herb?" when she asked me that i told her all about the herb that my grandmother gave me, the effects of the herb and why i wanted to find the herb again, it was so that people from all over the world could communicate with their pokemon . After that talk, we discussed so much about herbs and potions that we where 15 minutes late for our next class. Ever since that class we grew closer to each other.

Opening my eyes i looked out of the cave to see that the storm had already ended. With a sigh i stood up and put out the fire of the camp and thought _"Why did i remember that moment? Beats me..."_

As the fire had ceased, Growlithe stood up and stretched out cracking a few of his bones. "I'll stay inside the ball for now. If you need someone to talk to, just let me know." Growlithe said as i grabbed his pokeball and called him back inside leaving me alone.

Walking outside i took a breath of the cold air, from the cold i could almost smell berries... i wasn't sure what kind they were but they were a nice kind my pokemon would've liked.

*Shriek!* i was startled as the noise was loud and sudden. Looking around me i noticed 3figures approached me, three animated corpses all humanoid in appearance. One of the three had the face of an old man with a tattoo underneath where the ear would've been. The second whose face was shredded, i couldn't make anything out of it. As for the third, the third startled me, it made my heart beat more rapidly as the face almost resembled... "Ju- ngh!" i grabbed Yamask and Ampharos' ball and called them out.

"Zombs!" Yamask yelled attempting to pick up some snow and hurl it at them. Ampharos jumped into position and readied thunderbolt. "Everyone, defeat them all!" i commanded as i refused to stare at the face that resembled Juliet. As the two pokemon battled the corpses i remembered another memory of Juliet and our times together.

We were on our second date; it was a carnival that had a good amount of attractions. As we were about to walk into a scary house ride, Juliet then told me about her condition and how she couldn't go on those attractions because of her heart condition. Instead we just stayed near the attractions that didn't involve too much excitement or 'scares'

I remember when we first went on our first date Juliet told me about her condition. She asked me if i would still be willing to continue seeing her even if it meant we couldn't do things like this. I then assured her that i wouldn't leave her.

A conversation can change the fate of people's lives, big or small, our actions also have consequences, this was mine.

"Isaac!" Ampharos alerted me as the shredded faced corpse ran up to me, but before it attacked, an ember was used below me hitting directly at the corpse knocking it back. Looking down i noticed Growlithe outside his ball s he began to attack the corpse again with each one having a target to attack.

"Yamask use Shadow ball!" Yamask used the move shadow ball hitting the corpse directly into its face as it fell to the ground. "Ampharos use Thunder punch!" Ampharos pulled back her paw as it sparked brightly, she then punched as fast as she could into the face chest of the shredded faced corpse. "Growlithe, use flame wheel!" Growlithe curled up in a ball as fire engulfed his entire body. Growlithe then charged at the jul- at the corpse burning it alive as it fell to the ground.

Both corpses were defeated as they remained silent and still not one of them moving a muscle. "We should get moving, in case there are any more around here." Ampharos stated as she attacked the corpse pile with another thunder bolt to make sure they wouldn't surprise attack us. As i called back all three of my pokemon i began to walk towards the path down the mountain. i stopped as i turned around at the corpse again and shook my head walking down the path with the thought in my head, _"i won't fail you, Juliet."_

I made the call about becoming separated from us during the storm and asked the saviors for assistance. After the storm we reached the end of the trail towards route 09 where we waited about 30 minutes for any sign of Isaac.

"Isaac!" Sakura called out to Isaac as he was seen walking down the path. "Are you alright Isaac?" Isaac looked up at her as she approached and smiled. "I'm fine thanks. I fought off three animated corpses back that way. We should call someone to check this place out in case there are any more." Isaac sighed and walked further down the path along with Yamask pulling weird and funny faces at him, but all Isaac did was shrug and continue walking.

I then called the saviours again and told them of animated corpses have been sighted within the area. I also mentioned to them that Isaac had been found and they should call off the search. We didn't stay long at the mountain; our intentions were to get to Opelucid city as fast as we could to get some needed rest past route 09...

Past...

-The Sanctuary.

To be continued...

Annihilation 02/03 - Annihilation Trooper - Assault rifle

Notes:

Annihilation troopers wear the same armor, black suits complete with a helmet with the letter A (Team Annihilation for those that do not good memory.) The A is located on the helmet just above the visor of the helmet, one small 10x10 yellow A on the left side of the chest, and finally an A on the right side of the shoulders but this is the smallest by 3x3. These soldiers are considered dangerous in high numbers and must be dealt with high caution.

Their weapons Assault rifle Annihilation model Ver.2.05 has an extended clip, dot/laser sight and on few occasions to have a radar displayed on the gun near the trigger. Reports show that after File 04 Savior weapons that the latest models have a chip inside the gun that will only work with Annihilation troopers due to a chip inserted into them. Attempting to trace the weapons to its origin remains unsuccessful. Test 04.06 is in effect and expected to meet the goal for [text deleted] in the next few months.

File End.


	24. Chapter 24 Sanctuary

Chapter 24 - Sanctuary

Before we left the mountain the saviours showed up to investigate the surrounding area of the mountain and asked us questions before we could leave. It wasn't long; they only asked us or Isaac what the corpse looked like and if there were any that escaped. Isaac told them that he and his Pokémon defeated the three that attacked him but didn't see any more of them nearby. About another 20 minutes of waiting standing in the snow more soldiers appeared as a few of them sent out small drones to scan the mountain. The man in charge let us leave the area so we could continue to Opelucid city after explaining to him that we were on a mission and didn't want to be late, not that we were on a time limit or anything but it was an effective way to leave.

The path to route 9 wasn't too far away, as a matter of fact it was just around the corner from where we were. The route didn't have any other people or pokemon wandering nearby, we where alone here, not that it was unnerving or anything near a busy bridge.

"Hm?" Sakura stopped as she noticed a sign behind a tree that read 'Sanctuary' with a small arrow pointing ahead. Both of us walked up to her as Isaac leaned in closer to the sign.

" 'Sanctuary' ? What does that mean?" Both of us shook our heads as Isaac looked around the sign for more information, but he found nothing, only the words ''Sanctuary' an arrow and nothing more. We walked a little bit further along the path to find behind the trees another path leading towards a building the read out 'L.C.Z.' (Legendary Care Zone) there was a poster outside the buildings wall that displayed an event that would start next week, 'Regigigas Appearance Special!'

"A Regigigas? Wonder how they got that here?" Sakura wondered as she read the poster with Minccino. "Hey, look at this; 'The legendary trio will also be making an appearance to finish the show.' Wow, hey do you think it's open?" looking up at the front entrance of the building the sign said 'Open' and 'Free entry' seeing this we entered the building together.

The entrance was large with a statue of Reshiram and Zekrom starring directly at one another standing against the reception desk with two women talking amongst themselves. There was a waiting room with a few vending machines to the left of us. To the right was the gift shop that sold many legendary toys, caps with either a pokeball or some mascot of some kind, (Probably the L.C.Z.s mascot)

Walking over to the gift shop i noticed a large collection of individual posters for sale of certain legendaries found throughout Kanto, Kalos and Aloha. Some of the posters sold for about 100 PDs and some about 150 PDs each having the same kind of paper and size. The backgrounds and colors used with the cheap and expensive ones didn't make sense to me. _"Maybe it's some kind of popularity thing?"_ i thought as i looked again at the posters before walking towards the other merchandise.

About a couple of minutes more of looking at pencils, pencil cases and notebooks of legendaries at the front we walked up to the reception.

"Welcome to the Legendary Care Zone. Would you like a tour around the building?" the receptionist asked us, we agreed to this and waited in the waiting area until the tour guide showed up. We weren't there for too long, probably 3 to 5 minutes of waiting as the tour guide w young woman in her late 20s approached us, her skin was slightly dark, her hair black up to her mid back. She was wearing a navy blue suit with a name tag that said 'Debbie Law' and 'Tour Guide' underneath.

"so, are you three ready to start with the tour?" she asked as we began to stand up as she approached us. "Yeah, I am." Isaac said putting both his hands in his pockets. "Me too." Sakura said as i nodded.

"Great," she clapped smiling, "This way please." She led us out towards the double doors behind the reception and the statues of the Reshiram and Zekrom to the Photography room with each photo frame of a Legendary pokemon in their natural habitat. The photo had the pokemons name, number and date and location of the photo.

"Dew, Dewott." Dewott pointed out a photo hung up on the wall; it was an adult Latias resting in a field of grass. "Nice photo, huh?" i asked him a he nodded and smiled in response.

As we continued with the tour around the photo room we all looked at each individual photo displayed. I noticed that out of all the legendary photos they displayed, all of them had multiple photos of a legendary, all except for Arceus that only had one photo from 40 years ago. The Arceus in the photo was alone in a shrine like location, she looked kind of sad in a way as she looked up at the sky.

For many years... a thousand years, religious people and scientists attempted to search the entire planet, the many regions for a chance to speak with Arceus to learn the truth and fate of life after death. Most of the time the encounter is short or Arceus talks about those that ask her questions, things like themselves or things they desire. On a few rare occasions trainers have attempted to catch Arceus by battling her or using a few masterballs, all of them ended with Arceus fleeing or stopping the ball from touching her. Back then as i stood in front of that photo of Arceus alongside Dewott, i didn't know what to believe; an after world, nothing or something else entirely.

"Excuse me, Zack?" as i looked back i saw Debbie standing behind me. As i faced her she cleared her throat and said, "Your friends tell me you have a legenday pokemon in your party. With your permission i was wandering if you would like with your legendary pokemon to meet with the other legendaries. The legendaries here haven't had anyone new to talk too recently."

"Sure." I answered as Debbie smiled as she showed us to the garden area past beyond the photo room. The garden was huge, the grass was a healthy green filled with many flowers and trees. The lake in the middle of the garden resembled the lake in professor Junipers laboratory, a place i had been once before when i visited the place with Latias to get treated from an injury, seeing this place gave me nostalgia. As i grabbed both Lugia and Latias' pokeball from my bag, i aimed them in front of me as a red stream of light beamed out from the ball and materialized both Lugia and Latias.

Lugia sitting down on the grass looked around slightly tired. Lugia grew slightly than last it was out of its ball, it was almost the width of a house, _"Guess Lee was right, Lugia's do grow up fast."_ I smiled as i noticed Lugia's growing fast. Debbie then began to slowly approach Lugia lightly stroking its wings.

"We have only had about two Lugia that have appeared at this place. Legendaries are free to come here and stay as long as they want. Sometimes they offer to help us with festivals and displays we set up here."

Latias levitated down towards the flowers and began to sniff them, smiling she was about to pick some of them to take with her, but then she noticed a larger shadow approach her. Looking up she noticed a larger Latias sniffed her and looked directly at her gaining the attention of both me and the others.

 **Latias POV 2 minutes prior to the larger Latias approaching her**

The garden sure was beautiful, it reminded me of summer for some reason *sighs* i love summer, it's a shame Zack hates it, he always missed out on it despite my pleads to go out with me once and a while.

The woman I am guessing, she Is some kind of tour guide for a legendary museum was inspecting Lugia's wing. From the looks of it, Lugia didn't seem to mind being touched by her. As the woman was doing all of that to Lugia i decided to levitate around for awhil until it was my turn for the woman to 'Inspect me'? i think... anyway, as i levitated down towards the grass i noticed a group of blue flowers almost completely covered by the grass. "Ooh... pretty" i whispered as i gazed at the flowers after moving the grass off them. "Maybe can make like some kind of flower-charm-bracelet-thingy?" but before i picked up any, i noticed a larger shadow above.

As i looked up i noticed a larger Latias as she leaned in close to me, so close she began to sniff at me. This was a common thing for pokemon to do to either recognise someone or when males mate with females check if they have been taken or not. Looking around slightly trying to keep my eyes on her i didn't see any other legendary around here so i assumed she thought i was someone else.

After sniffing me, the Latias stared directly at me with a puzzling look, "L-Latias? Sweetie, i-is that- *Gasps*" The Latias covered her mouth her both of her paws as she teared up, "It is you, *sniff* i-i thought i would never see you again." The Latias began to hug me tightly confusing me greatly. _"W-who is this Latias? What's going on?"_ I thought still being hugged by the Latias. I then managed to break free from the Latias' hug and backed off and demanded to know what she wanted.

"Latias, a long time ago..." she wiped away her tears as she began to stutter in her speech, "Y-y-your father a-and am- I lost y-you to some hunters. I-I'm your mother Latias." She sniffed smiling at me trying to get closer to me for another hug.

"What's going on?" Zack asked as he approached me, _"Zack! Thank Arceus you're here!"_ I thought feeling safer that Zack was beside me. "Zack, this Latias says that i am her daughter." I said as Isaac translated to all of them, i also told them that we were apparently separated from each other from hunters and both her and my supposed father have been looking for me ever since.

The father was a Latios, larger than Latias he levitated towards her and stared at me as his mouth gaped wide, "I-is it really?" the Latias beside him smiled and nodded after wiping away a few of her tears. "L-Latias, I'm your father, how i have waited for this day to see you again." Both pokemon slowly levitated towards me... *sighs* trying to hug me again...

"W-wait a minute, I-if y-you truly are my parents then... why did you leave me? Didn't you want me?" i asked them as they both appeared shocked at my question.

"Before you were born," the Latias began being held by the Latios as he closed his eyes, "Your father and I had heard rumors of hunters sighted within our home region, so we had to flee to another, Unova. Over time we had a child together, you Latias. As we watched you grow from a baby Latias to a young one we thought we truly found a great place to live... but then the hunters appeared and attacked us. We told you to escape before we were captured." The Latias still tearing closed her eyes for a while until she opened them again. "S-sorry i... i just... *sighs*"

"It's fine, please tell me the rest, i want to know." I said as she seemed happier.

"After our capture, all of us escaped from the hunters, we searched all over the forest to find you... for 5 y-years we've *sobs*" the Latias began to cry as she clenched her eyelids shut. The Latios then said, "Ever since we escaped we have searched for you believing that you had escaped. We recognised you from your scent; only our daughter has that scent... you're her."

I didn't know what to do, i didn't know if i should embrace them, stare at them, leave them or a little bit of both. I was trying to decide what to do, until they said, "N-now that you are with us again, w-we can go back to our home region again." The Latias said as she smiled along with the Latios.

"H-home region? N-no-" i said not wanting to leave but they interrupted me, "We can leave right now, we can see my parents again and your cousins and the rest of the family like we should've done long ago."

"I said no," i slightly raised my voice at them but they didn't listen. "My mother, father, even my siblings would just love to meet you."

"I said NO!" i yelled startling Zack, the others and the Latias and Latios as their eyes widened. "No?" asked the Latias as she appeared hurt. The Latias then levitated towards me and grabbed my arm. "I am your mother and you do as you are told!"

"Hey, stop it." Zack approached the Latias trying to get her off of me, but the Latios levitated towards Zack, grabbed him and threw him down towards the ground. Before i could react, the Latias then grabbed my arm again pulling me, "Latias, listen to your mother now!"

"L-let go!" i managed to break free from the Latias' grip and backed away again but the Latias glared at me and began to shout, "Latias! How dare you disobey your mother!" The Latios then approached me almost, but without thinking i used psychic to push both of them back as i levitated as fast as i could towards the forest to hide from them fearing them.

As i flew fast past each tree and bush i thought "Why is she geting mad all of a sudden?" I then remembered the words of the Latias a few moments ago, '5 Years.' As i slowed down near a clearing within the forest i looked back to check if the eons were following me... nothing.

"Latias?" i was startled as i heard a voice in front of me, it was the Latias again as she crossed her arms in front of her body. "Why did you run away?" the Latias then moved closer towards me, but i then used protect on myself preventing the Latias from touching me or getting too close.

"Enough with these games L-" she said as i spoke over her, "Who are you really? You say we last saw one another was about 5 years ago?" the Latias' glare faded as she raised appeared more sad than she was as she told me the story with the hunters.

"Y-yes Latias, it was 5 years ago." She closed her eyes for a moment until she looked up again as tears began to leak. "funny, 5 years ago i was with my trainer Zack. A year before that i met him for the first time. You are a year off, who are you really?" i asked as the Latias looked left and right for a moment silent as she remained there.

The Latias then sighed, "I'm... sorry, me and Latios are not your real parents..." I was confused as she said that, she and the Latios claimed a couple of minutes ago that i was their daughter, so i asked them, "Why? Why did you think i was your daughter?"

"You looked like our daughter... i wasn't lying when i told you we were attacked by hunters in the forest or that we escaped together. The hunters during our escape began firing their weapons off into the forest hitting and killing a few of us... one of those weapons hit my real daughter..." the Latias fell slowly to the ground, "She died instantly... i didn't want to believe she died, l-like that."

"Latias..." I heard beside me as the Latios levitated over to Latias. The Latias looked up at me along with the Latios, "We're sorry we lied to you and shouted at you like that... it was wrong of us." The Latias then sobbed as she leaned her head onto the Latios' chest. As i watched them i felt sorry for them having to carry on with life after the death of their own child never getting over it.

We then returned to the others waiting at the sanctuary garden, the eons both apologised to Zack for pushing him down to the ground and also lying about being my real parents. All was forgiven in the end as Debbie who was unaware of the eons tragic past promised to help the two through a pokemon consoling session of some kind.

It was later that day we sat together int he sanctuary garden to eat lunch together, i was sitting on the grass with Dewott as we ate a bowl of oran berries together before he asked me.

"Hey, Latias? Are you alright?" swallowing another berry i gave him a quick nod and said "Yes, kind of... *sighs*... I don't know..." Dewott let go of the berry he picked up and looked at me, "Was it because of those eons from before?" i only nodded slowly.

"But you know, when those eons said i was their daughter, i was met with so many emotions i didn't know what to do, but after i realised they weren't my real parents i was... glad in a way."

"Glad?" Dewott asked as he grabbed another oran berry by his paw.

"Ever since i met Zack... well a few months into it i always felt as if Zack's mother and father were my own parents and Yuri was my sister... Zack however i didn't see him as a sibling, but as a really good friend." I blushed at that, but it faded quickly as i continued. "I didn't want things between us to become awkward if those eons were my real parents."

"Do you still want to meet your real parents some day?" Dewott asked me, i grabbed an oran berry from the plastic container and smiled, "Yes, no matter what happens when meeting my real parents for the first time, Zack's family in a way is still my family."

To be continued...

Trivia

This was one of a few stories that made it into the main story. Other stories that never made it into the main story were; the trio find an annihilation member killing criminals in prison and had to find out why. another story was about Sakura's past and why she traveled alone.


	25. Chapter 25 Return

"Dead and a failure to the project." Speech

 _"What would a manga protagonist do?"_ Thought of a character

 ***BHAM!*** A sound effect apparently

Chapter 25 - Return

Opelucid city, a few weeks ago i was given my first mission from the saviours to deliver chikorita back to her trainer who was supposed to meet us at the center just up the street.

"Opelucid city, where about is chikorita's trainer?" Sakura asked as i brought out my saviours device being careful not to push Dewott off as he was holding on to my shoulder.

"The pokemon center is where we should find chikorita's trainer Charles waiting for us." The device shut off as i began to put it back inside my bag.

"After you give back chikorita again, what's next?" Isaac asked walking next to Sakura stroking Minccino's cheek with his index finger.

"The Saviors said after the mission has been completed i should return back to Castelia, probably give me a new mission or something." As we continued to walk to the center, i can remember the details so well; the ground i walked on was full of small rocks that crunched beneath my shoes, the air was cold i could almost see my breathe, this was defiantly the start of the cold season.

There weren't much people on the street as we neared the center, since we were at the edge of the city we were probably in the quieter parts of the city.

As we entered the center, nurse joy was behind the counter of the reception as she was typing on the computer in front of her, she stopped as soon as she noticed us take our first steps inside.

"Welcome to the pokemon center, how may i help you today?" she asked greeting us with a smile.

"I'm with the Saviors," i said as i showed her my saviours ID, "I was told Charles McGuire was here, we have his pokemon for him."

"Let me see..." she picked up a clipboard and turned a few pages before stopping at one page. "Ah here we go; Charles called yesterday afternoon saying he would be here exactly at 12. Would you like to have some rooms for the night?" the nurse offered, i agreed and waited in the waiting room until the nurse got the room ready.

The clock read '10:47' it had been 10 minutes before the nurse vanished to the room behind the desk, the tv was switched on to a news story from Kanto.

"The fires inside the house have finally calmed down after fire fighters have finally extinguished the flames. The marsh family, residents of Marsh Manor are reported dead." The tv then showed a young girl with black hair as she was wearing a white shirt smiling happily holding an Eevee. The mother standing besides her husband as they both wore a suit and tie all smiling in front of their house.

"Police have not found anyone suspicious at the moment, but Eliot marsh's body or the family's Eevee has not yet been located." As i watched the news on the t vi wondered what the Kanto Saviors branch was like. From what i remember about the Kanto branch, the saviours building was located in pewter city, it's a smaller building that Unova's building have and have more VR (Virtual reality) training rooms than all five savoir branches. _"I wonder if a savoir member is investigating on that family."_ I thought to myself watching the tv before noticing nurse joy had returned with the room keys in hand.

Both Isaac and Sakura headed towards the room, Isaac decided to rest for a while, and sakura took a quick shower. I was in the pokemon feeding room where i gave each of my pokemon their food, Lugia who was released first before the others were released was happy eating an entire watermelon and was brought back inside of its pokeball due to its large size, Golett didn't eat much but instead played with some building blocks left out near the corner of the room. Latias ate some fruit from a bowl, Totodile and Dewott ate some pokeblocks while chikorita ate some berries quietly by herself under the large window.

"Excuse me, are you the savoir member i was told that about?" as i looked back towards the entrance of the room i saw a teenager probably the same age as me, short red hair wearing a white trench coat with gold colored metal pieces on the forearms. His boots were shiny and black with the words 'Hiker Star' on the ankle parts.

"That's right," i replied, "And you must be Charles McGuire." Charles walked further into the room looking around at my pokemon. "I'm here to collect Chikorita." Just as Charles said that, Chikorita noticing her trainer was in the room standing staring directly at her she attempted to run out of the room again, but Dewott managed to stop her by picking her up.

"Dew Dewott." Dewott attempted to calm Chikorita who was trying to break free from the grip. "Dewott, dew!" chikorita then began to use her vines to assist her to free herself from Dewott.

"Chika!" one of the two vines slapped Dewott across the face once then across his chest, but Dewott didn't let go despite each slap left a large red mark. Chikorita then used her hind legs and pushed against Dewott's stomach breaking free from his grip and fell to the floor.

 ***thud*** chikorita quickly stood up and ran towards the door but was blocked by Charles' foot blocking her way; she looked up at Charles to see him glare at her clenching his fists. Chalres kneels down as he attempts to pick her up, but to our surprise she slaps his hand away with her leaf attached to her head.

"Ah! You little!" Charles raised his fist attempting to strike chikorita but she quickly backed away from him. Charles then stands up, "Get over here now, moron!"

Standing up i walked over towards Charles trying to calm him down a little, "Charles, take it easy." Charles then grabbed me by my arm, "Shut up, Delivery boy!" he then pushed me back down to the floor. Dewott then runs up to Charles with his scalchops, suddenly Charles kicks Dewott in the stomach causing him to fall to his knees groaning in pain.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" I shouted trying to stand up but Charles with his foot kicked me to the ground again. "I said-" Charles was then interrupted when Golett punched his knee as he fell on his back. Latias, tododile gathered around me to help me stand up, Dewott with both of his scalchops activated razor shell ready to attack Charles with the help from Golett.

"What the heck is wrong with you, kid?!" Charles shouted as he stood up, "You'll pay for that!" Charles then grabbed two pokeballs from his belt and released Arbok and Raticate. "Arbok, Raticate let's show them not to mess with us."

Dewott along with Golett got ready as Arbok and Raticate took their battle stances ready to attack. "Get 'em!" Charles ordered as raticate was the first to attack. Raticate opened its mouth wide as its fangs glowed a purple readying poison fang at Dewott. Dewott then attempted to evade the attack but the raticate proved much faster as i sunk its fangs into Dewott's arm.

"Dew!" Dewott screamed, the ratiacte was about to bite down hard but was punched off by Golett right in the face sending it flying back in front of Charles glaring at his pokemon, "Get up! Defeat these bastards!"

My saviours device beeped catching my attention. Opening it up it displayed that Dewott was poisoned and at about 50% HP now. _"How did a poison fang inflict so much dam-"_ That's when it hit me, before the battle began Charles kicked Dewott in his stomach. _"Damn! I gotta switch out."_ Golett continued trying to punch the raticate again and again but its speed was to great. Arbok then used its large tail to swipe at Dewott pushing against the wall. Dewott's HP was now at 20%, "Dewott, switch with Totodile."

Dewott ran back kneeling besides Latias resting as Totodile ran up facing Arbok. "Use Watergun!" Totodile backflipped and squirted a large stream of water directly into the Arbok's face. Golett took this as an advantage and punched Arbok, but raticate quickly uses quick attack injuring Golett as it fell to the ground. Raticate then jumped up high into the air and extended its claws attacking Golett with scratch.

"C'mon, how pathetic can you get?" Charles said as he smirked watching his pokemon now ganging up on Golett. Suddenly a vine grabbed Raticate around its stomach and threw it across the room hitting the wall. "What the?" all of us looked at the attacker to see Chikorita glaring at her trainer.

Charles clenching his fist, "You bitch! I knew you would be a waste of my time the moment i met you. Arbok, kill the little rat." Arbok raised its tail about to slam against Chikorita was interrupted with Totodile using another watergun.

"Totodile!" Totodile ran over to Arbok using tackle injuring Arbok. Chikorita then used razor leaf at Arbok. "Damn it, Raticate, get up!" Raticate still laid there on the floor against the wall now fainted.

"Chika!" Chikorita cried as Arbok wrapped around her body with its tail squeezing her tightly. Totodile then rushed over and tried to save her but Arbok kept trying to bite him should he get too close. The way Arbok was squeezing her with its tail seemed like it didn't put any effort into it and that its goal was to kill Chikorita, "Hey, Stop it!" i shouted over to Charles trying to get him to call off the attack but Charles stood there with a smile on his face enjoying every last moment of it.

Chikorita looked around the room, unaware to us as we tried to stop the fight couldn't hear us. Chikorita looked down to see Totodile using scratch on the Arbok's body trying to inflict as much damage as it could to save her. Chikorita then looked up to see her trainer Charles laughs as I and the other Pokémon try to stop the fighting. Latias attempted to use psychic but was cut off by Charles as he threw an empty bowl at her angering Dewott as he tried to attack him again.

Chikorita then glared at Charles and cried out 'Chikorita' on last time before her entire body glowed. All of us startled as we saw Chikorita glow within the Arboks grasp, her size increased and the glowing dimmed down so her new form was revealed, Chikorita was now a Bayleef, in her new form and advantage due to Arboks surprise at her evolution quickly used Leaf blade upwards hitting Arboks mouth.

"A Bayleef...?" Charles muttered under his breath mouth dropped, but Bayleef attacked Arbok again before Charles could give Arbok a command, Byaleef used Vine whip several times slapping it across its face and upper body until it fell to the ground. The Arbok had defiantly fainted and Charles had to return it to its pokeball.

"You know what, keep the damned pokemon. This was a waste of my time." Charles then left the room quickly leaving us alone with Bayleef as she watched her trainer leave her. Totodile walked up to Bayleef as he tapped her foreleg gaining her attention.

"Totodile?" Bayleef looked down at a small trinket of blood dripping down from her foot. Bayleef nodded looking sad as she stared at where her trainer was. Totodile looked at me and called me over. As i stood up and walked over to Bayleef and Totodile carefully not to injure Golett or Dewott as they were still being treated from the battle.

"Bayleef," Bayleef looked up at me as i knelt down besides her and Totodile. "If you want, you can come with us." Bayleef then looked down at Totodile standing beside her smiling at her. Bayleef smiled and nodded. That is when i stroked the top of her head, just below the large leaf. As i stroked her i noticed Bayleef tearing up a little. worried, i quickly removed my hand from her head believing that i had injured her, but she leaned her head on my chest crying.

Totodile standing beside me walked closer to bayleef and hugged her foreleg. placing my hand on her head again, but gently i hugged her. i noticed bayleef's smile increase into a much wider one. tears of sadness... no, she was crying that day because she was free, free from someone who mistreated her so much she tried to run away from it all.

After we had accepted Bayleef into our team i called the savoirs letting them know of what had happened.

"I see," Replied Reiko after i told her everything that had happened with Chikorita or now Bayleef's trainer and how he treated her like that, thinking back on those times we spent together she always stayed away from us, refusing to be apart of the group. did maybe, did she thought the same thing would happen if she got close to us? that she would be treated the same way?

"I have already informed Lee about this." Reiko smiled into the camera and with her free hand typed down something on the keyboard in front of her. "Okay Zack, please return to Castelia city. Clair would like to talk with you about your mission, and Lee would like to look at your pokemon."

"I will." With that, the device shut down and all of us returned to the center were everyone else waited.

Charles and Chikorita at the time didn't exactly like one another; in fact Chikorita despised him as his ways of Pokémon battles were seen as harsh and cruel. I don't know what happened to Charles as i never saw him again, but I was glad that Bayleef could stay with us.

As the day passed by quickly, so did our relationship grew. Bayleef told everyone that night that she was sorry for treating them like she did. all of us accepted her apology as bayleef wrapped us in her vines for a group hug filling the room with laughter.

To be continued...

Special 01/02 - Savior HQ Unova Branch

Founders Clark Stone, Olivia Garcia, Tai Kurosawa, Gregory Hill and Hillary Turner

Floors 15, including 3 basement floors

Members 3708 Savior members as of February 2019

Class: Agent Ranks

01 Considered the best of the Saviors ranks, higher pay and a chance to become a candidate for leader of the Saviors, become the saviors leader assistant, or continue going on missions with or without assistance. available for all classes. All regions around the world are available and higher ranking missions are available with higher pay. (In this case Free roam is unlocked as a Savior member once said.)

02 Members that reach this rank are allowed to access police files and gain access to high ranking areas.

03 Members that reach this rank can command Savior Troopers, but only a small amount.

04 Members that reach this rank can start a mission whenever they feel like it. If missions are completed daily, a rank 4 has higher chances of increasing their ranks.

05 Members that reach this rank gain access to Medium ranking areas, files and items that can be used out on the field.

06 Members that reach this rank can go to another region of their choice. Regions without Savior HQs are not allowed until the savior member has increased rank.

07-Members that reach this rank can go on missions but only within the region. Allowing others into his/her team is accepted, but an identity check and 24hr surveillance is in effect until approved.

08-Members that reach this rank can go on missions but only within the area of the Saviors HQ and no further. A rank 8 must not allow anyone to help them outside of the saviors. Only a rank 07-05 can assist them on missions, this applies to rank 07, 06, 05 and 03.

09-Lower ranking Members like 9 continue training but their training remains within the building. Rank 9s can patrol small areas away from areas that possess a threat to an attack.

10-All recruits start off as a rank 10. Rank 10s train until they level up to a higher rank. They cannot be assigned on any missions and the pay is low.

The Saviors was founded by Clark, Olivia, Tai, Gregory and Hillary in the city of Castelia when they were teenagers wanting to clean up the world and prevent crime. a few years later their dream came true and started up the Saviors HQ in five different regions. The reason for the split was a falling out that occurred during the start of the Saviors on who should be the leader of the Saviors. All five of them went their separate ways and opened up a Savior HQ each within 5 difernet regions.

 **Note** : last paragraph contains a spelling mistake [' **difernet** ' should be ' **different** '.]. Must fix immediately before Dec 21 2019 11:00AM for file inspections.

End of File.

 **AN: The battle was weak i'll admit, really trying to improve on the battle scenarios. Since this chapter was kinda short in a way, the next chapter will be much larger than this. Thanks for reading, until next time.**


	26. Chapter 26 Race to Freedom

Chapter 26 - Race to Freedom

 **Sakura's POV**

The smell, it smelt like death. I opened my eyes to find myself in a dark room void of light. The air was slightly warm, damp almost. I could feel small rocks against my face, moving my hands against the rocks i managed to push myself up to a kneeling position before realising that my jaw was aching.

" _W-what is-"_ The lights suddenly turned on, in the room was Zack and Isaac unconscious against the wall. Kneeling over to them as fast as I could I shake them by their shoulders to wake them up.

"Ugh..." Isaac open his eyes first as he lightly touched his bleeding forehead, "Ah!" He winced and touched his forehead again.

Zack was now awake; he began to sit up rubbing his neck. He looked at me, eyes slightly closed and asked, "Where are we?"

"I don't know," I said shaking my head slightly. A few more seconds of silence until the doors of the room opened and we saw three men enter two with a knife and a bat, the other without a weapon, all of them smiling at us.

 **10 Hours prior to capture.**

"So this Dream race," Zack asked as we walked alongside one another almost near Lacunose city. "The winner can get whatever they want?"

"Anything, but the chances of winning is slim since the owner hires most of the racer to win the race." I replied remembering suddenly about the last Dream race held last year when someone entered the race and won, he wanted his children to enter a good university without getting kicked out, the kind you either need good grades or money to enter. Not many people know how the dream race is funded; some theorists have come up with a Pokémon known as Jirichi was the reason for the rewards and things that cost a fortune. Some believe they use the money the fans use to watch the game while a small few believe the game is somehow rigged so that a small amount can win the game thus collecting more money every year.

"You know," I began, "If I won I would go on a vacation somewhere with my mom, it's... been a while since the two of us went anywhere." As I said that, I remembered when my mom took me to Kalos once when I was 5 or maybe 6. We only went there because my mom was celebrating her 30th birthday with her sister who lived in Kalos. Ever since she and I moved here, managed to get a job working in the Pokémon center she hasn't had time for anything really.

"If I won the 'Dream Race' I would ask for my reward to be enough money for Juliet's operation." Isaac told us as me and Zack looked at him, Zack asked, "How much can the winner get from the Dream Race?"

"The most anyone can ask for is up to one million." Replied Isaac as we continued down the path.

The Dream Race could only give the winner a prize equalling up to one million and no more. Some winners did not ask for a million, they would sometimes ask for vacations, a certain Pokémon for their collection or a years' worth of free food.

Lacunose city was almost ahead of us, we decided to purchase a few items and food before heading towards the next area.

We stopped as three strange tall men wearing black trench coats with their hoods up and wearing harlequin like masks covering their faces. The man in the middle same height as the other two stepped forward.

"You three," He pointed, "You three are just perfect, just what I have been looking for." He stood there still pointing at all of us in silence; at first we thought they were some kind of Pokémon trainers.

Isaac stepped forward rubbing the back of his head, "Listen, none of us want to have a Pokémon battle with you. We just want to get to the city; can you please step aside and let us pass?"

The three men looked at one another and surprisingly they stepped aside standing next to one another without uttering a word. "That was easy." Isaac said as we walked again approaching the three men still standing there hardly moving an inch.

As Zack walked in front of us and past the second man, that's when I noticed the third man near Zack turned his head and punched him as he fell to the ground. The second man then attacked Isaac punching the back of his head knocking him out. But before I could look at the third man, all I can remember was sudden darkness, then pain.

 **Back to the cells**

"Greetings new inmates," The three men from earlier entered along with a fourth man wearing a white buttoned shirt and tie. His brown hair was rather long, almost reaching his hip. He looked young, probably a little younger than Deacon. The man every now and then blinked twice instead of one, " _He must have dry_ eyes." I thought at the time.

The man smiled as he placed his hands behind his back, "My apologizes for how my men brought you here injuring all of you." Isaac stepped up clenching his fists and demanded, "What have you done with our Pokémon!?"

The man continued to smile as he ignored Isaac, "We wanted to bring you here by different means, but we didn't want-"

"Hey!" Isaac interrupted the man slightly startling him, "I asked you-" The man quickly ran up to Isaac and punched him right in the stomach. Isaac groaned in pain as he fell to the ground holding his stomach.

"Anyway, as I was saying..." the man returned to the others continuing his speech as me and Zack helped Isaac, "We wanted to bring you here without causing you harm, but time was running out for us."

The man cleared his throat, "My name is Mark, and I am the boss of the 'Dream Race' I welcome you." Mark greeted us as his grin became much wider earning a few laughs from the three men standing behind him, again he double blinked.

"The reason I have caught ya'll is for one reason:" He paused as his grin faded momentarily, but returned as he said, "For all of you to work for this arena as slaves." Before any of us could attempt to speak to him, Mark sighed and uttered, "Take them."

We were then thrown into another area, much larger than the cell but we were in the race course area with a few other people, most with guns, the others carrying boxes and repairing equipment off the side all looked tired and dirty.

An old man in a wheel chair approached us and greeted us, "Hello there, I see that you have already met Mark then?" He was wearing a Castelia baseball cap, a dirty white shirt with a darkened red stain on his shoulder, and green pants... both of his legs up to the knees were gone now covered in bloodstained bandages.

"My name is Jake, c'mon I'll show you to the work area." As he turned his chair around, Zack stepped forward and asked him, "Wait, what's going on here? Why did this Mark guy capture us?" Jake stared at the ground for a moment scratching his nose a little.

"Mark uh... he's been using us as slaves for his Dream Race for about 5 months now. I don't know why he started doing this, probably lost his mind or something." Jake then patted his legs, "You see these two? 3 months ago I entered the race to win my freedom... I came in 3rd place in the end while his hired racers won again for the 5th time in a row. As punishment for losing the race, Mark did this to me saying; 'Now you can never race again'"

"Why haven't the police got involved? What about your families?" asked Isaac as he stood up properly after almost recovering from the punch from earlier.

"Mark saw to that our families wouldn't question our absence. He wrote them fake messages just to keep them away from here. Sometimes he gave us the letters our families sent us. Now as for the police, no one has shown up about us; probably don't even suspect anything going on over here."

Jake then wheeled his chair to the workstation where we were given small boxes to carry, "Take these boxes and carry them over there." Jake pointed towards a garage on the opposite side the arena. "Once you've done, return here and repeat until all 40 boxes have been delivered."

Isaac lightly rubbing his stomach was about to walk over to one of the guards giving him a dirty look, grabbing his arm I asked him, "No Isaac, don't."

"But what about our Pokémon? We can't let them do this to us." Isaac gritted his teeth and was about to walk towards the guard, but he looked down at the ground and walked over to the stack of boxes carrying one of them.

 **Meanwhile in Mark's Office**

"Greetings my friends," Mark laughed as he stood towering above our Pokémon out of their pokéballs and not in any cages. Most of them attempted to use their moves to attack Mark, but for some reason they couldn't.

"Don't bother trying to use you moves, cause this sweet baby," Mark pulled out a small grenade like device from his pocket and showed it to them, "This beauty nullifies all Pokémon moves and abilities. I managed to swipe it from an Annihilation solider once." Mark double blinked again "These things are very rare to come by, makes you wonder why they didn't make more of them..."

Mark turned away from the Pokémon and walked back to his desk, 4 of his henchmen all armed with guns aimed their weapons at the Pokémon threatening to shoot them all if any one of them moved out of the group.

Mark then wrote down on a piece a calculation of how much money he could earn if he sold them to Pokémon hunters. "Hmm... yeah but how am I supposed to know if they will pay me this much and try to pay me less?" Mark's face then began to sweat and his blinking increased to 3, then 5 and 7.

 ***Blinking Intensifies***

"Nah, I'll just kill them." Mark then scrunched up the piece of paper into a ball and threw it into the trashcan whooping as the ball fell in, "Damn, 100 points."

 **The Arena**

After finishing up with the boxes, the guards let us have a small break with a few other 'slaves' eating from ration boxes and drinking coffee from a plastic cup left out on the tables free for anyone to grab.

"Well, how did your task go?" Jake asked as he wheeled up over to with a cup of coffee in between his thighs.

"Why the hell are you treating this as everything is normal?" Shouted Isaac as he threw his cup down on the ground. "They captured you all like Pokémon, forced you to work, they even cut off your legs for crying out loud." Jake took a sip of coffee from his cup and set it down on a nearby table.

"True, he did all of this." Jake looked up at Isaac staring into his eyes. "But they have weapons, we don't. 7 of us 2 months ago attempted to fight them with nothing but wrenches, shovels and our fists. You can obviously tell who won that fight."

Isaac sighed closing his eyes before asking Jake, "There must be something we can do to escape from this place. Is there a way?" Jake looked down to the ground shaking his head. "There is one way, you could try to appeal to Mark to letting you go. He'll most likely say 'I will unless you win a certain challenge.' and do that weird eye thing of his. He'll ask for you to participate in the bike tournament. Should you win, you could earn your freedom, unless he decides to claim you cheated in the race."

"But I... I don't know how to ride a bike." Isaac and Jake both looked at Zack, but he shook his head, "Sorry, I don't know either."

"What about you missy, can you ride a bike?" Jake asked me smiling a little. I gave him a short nod and replied, "I can, but I'm pretty sure my riding skills are nothing compared to the tournament."

"Mark is a man who can be reasoned with," As soon as Jake said that, Isaac scoffed and said, "Reasoned with huh? Yeah right..." Jake raised an eyebrow before continuing. "Just ask for some time to practice before the next dream race begins. I was once a racer believe it or not, in my day I won several tournaments during the Kanto summer of 1978-1995. I can help you get ready until then."

"Are you sure you want to do this Sakura?" Zack asked, I thought about it, the way he had cut off both of Jake's legs for coming in 3rd... I didn't want anything like that happening to me, I was...scared. I didn't show this on the outside, I seemed calm and steady.

"Okay, I'll do it."

 **Sometime later in Mark's office**

The office was rectangular, nothing too big. It only had a wooden desk with nothing on top. The trashcan in the corner of the room had a few paper balls inside, and a rotten banana. The walls were nothing important, just white painted walls made out of concrete, no window anywhere. Standing in front of the desk like I was told to by the guards before entering, behind me where our Pokémon holding onto one another slightly shaking each time a guard aimed their weapons at them. Mark had entered the room smiling and double blinking as he sat behind the desk arms and legs crossed.

"So I hear you want in on the Dream Race, this true?" He grinned revealing his slightly yellow teeth... ugh.

"Y-yes, I would like to enter the race." Mark opened a draw from the desk and grabbed a document and pen. "You do realize what happens if you lose don't you? Let me see what you will lose..." Mark sat their searching up and down my body, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"I say should you lose the race, you will have your tongue removed. You will never ask for another race again." Mark then chuckled to himself as he slid the paper towards me and rolled the pen as it almost fell of the desk. I picked up the pen and read from the document and began to read it;

 _Welcome to the Dream Race,_

 _You the challenger have declared to enter the race to win anything you desire, from riches, to vacations. By signing this form, you agree that by losing the race you must give up something to prevent you from participating in the race ever again._

 _Please sign here:_

The document was probably made for the slaves trying to win their freedom here. Instead of backing out like I wanted to, I signed the form and passed it to him as he smiled.

"Excellent, you may go back to the arena to continue your work until the race begins." But before any of the guards attempted to drag me out of the room I spoke up, "Wait, please allow myself to train before the race."

Mark stared at me for a few moments and asked, "and why should I do that? I think you'll be better off working, don't you think so?" the guard who I just noticed was standing beside me.

"Please, let me train until then. I'm a little rusty with riding bikes and I just need a few training sessions." I pleased to him hoping he would accept.

"I suppose so. Now go and train then. Take her to the warehouse, okay?" Mark shooed me away as the guard grabbed me by the arm pulling me out forcefully.

 **Stadium Warehouse**

We arrived at a set of double doors being opened by the sole guard armed with a baseball bat. He wore a dirty vest, green shorts, and a pair of sandals. I'm not sure of his age, maybe…30ish, 40s maybe. Once the doors opened wide, the guard holding onto my arm pushed me inside making the other one laugh as they slammed the doors behind me.

Running back towards the doors I heard the keys as they locked the door, followed by footsteps leading away. With a short sigh I turned back, the warehouse wasn't large really; it was a room equal to the size of the entrance to a regular Pokemon center, except this room was slightly dark, damp… and smelly. There were a few small desks at both sides filled with biking equipment, helmets and suits.

Walking up to one of the workshop desk with an almost dismantled bike set on top, I was suddenly reminded of my childhood years. The bike I saw on that desk was the exact same color the one my grandmother gave me for my 5th birthday when her, my mom and I went to the Kalos region to celebrate a promotion my mother received.

As I touched the handlebar with my fingers, it was as if I were touching foreign to me. That bike from my youth was only used once, during the longest summer, the best summer I had… before he came into the picture, that man who turned my youthful cheerful sunny summer, into a cold and rainy storm. Just the thought of that man grinning at me sent me back to reality, still touching the handlebar of the bike, I let go stepping back a few steps away from the bike.

Now standing in the center of the room I sighed once more placing my forehead in the palm of my hand. _"Why did I have to participate in this stupid bike race?!"_ I thought trying to find answers, but came up blank like always… sighs.

 ***Slam!***

The doors burst open as Jake was thrown head first onto the cold dirty floor. The two guards armed with metal baseball bats walked up to him and kicked him right in the stomach.

"Get to work old man!" ordered the guard as he rested the bat on his shoulder. The guard then smirked, "Get some progress done today, and you won't lose another limb. Legless freak!" both guards laughed at that as they walked towards the doors, slamming them shut before locking them.

Running over to Jake, Jake looked up from the floor and pointed over towards one of the workshop desks. It took some time, but I managed to carry him up on top of it.

"Sighs… T-thanks kid. Gah!" Jake winced lightly as he touched his stomach again.

"Why did they do that too you? What happened?" I asked him, Jake shook his head. "They do that most of the time, to prisoners like me, your buddy Isaac. Age or disability, they still walk all over you, as if you were a small tiny pebble amongst the many thousands on the road." Jake rubbed the back of his head and sighed.

"As for Pokemon, you may have noticed not a single Pokmeon has been sighted, no Pokeball strapped onto a guard or two. Mark, he captures them and sells them to the highest bidder." He was right about that. Jake continued as he looked up at the stained ceiling.

"But for women in this place, Mark ordered the guards to never harm or injure any, no matter what." Jake looked up at me with a worried look, "Mark attempts many times to push women to take part in the tournament. Should they lose the race either disqualification or came in any place other than first… he claims them as his."

My eyes widened as I heard this, I had to ask, "Claim? You mean as Mark's personal slave?" Jake gave a small nod. But why did Jake suggest this idea to me, wouldn't he had wanted to keep me away from it?

"But why ask me if you already knew what that man does? Are you with him or something?"

"Of cause not, i didn't ask to come here to teach you how to race." Jake from where he was sitting leaned back towards the wall and with his arm reached down as if he were trying to get something, until he did.

What he brought up was a makeshift gun made out of wood, old tools and gears all held together by duct tape, a lot of tape. He also brought up a large box of steel nails and began inserting one by one into the makeshift gun, or nail gun if you prefer.

"Did you know I spent a long time here? So long, I cannot recall what the sun feels like, the warmth, the brightness from taking one glance at it, floating in the sky." Jake finished loading up the gun and held it with both hands. "Ever since they took away my legs, I built this gun with help from many others, some I called friends, 1 I called my lover… she was taken by him never to be seen again." Jake now gripped the gun tightly as he aimed at one of the bike racks.

"To tell you the truth… I am no champion, never won one race. I came close at one point, but I never did reach that finish line, I was always to slow at it." Jake lowered the gun down to his lap and swallowed. "My father was a lawyer once, at a young age he taught me from right and wrong in his own way. He wanted me to be a lawyer like him, but I never wanted to become a lawyer, it wasn't my dream. My dream," Jake chuckled to himself smiling slightly.

"My dream is to finally win a race, to reach the finish line, make my father understand that this was the path I had wanted, to become a racer… but I never did." Jake placed the gun down beside him, "I don't care if I die today, and I want to do everything I can to save my friends in this place called hell Mark created. Sakura," Jake looked at me with a very grave look. "Please, help me escape this place. For months I spent finding theses cruel bastards patrol route and I have, there won't be too many guards, only 5 or less. But with my weapon, we should make it out. The guards here won't use pistols or assault rifles because of how close we are to the civilians out there. I wouldn't be asking you if I didn't know we can do this, this is a solid plan, I know I don't have legs, but if were to use one of the bikes over there, you could push me and I can just focus on using the gun."

I just stood there; I didn't know what I should do. Fear of getting caught, the plan was to fail, the guards capturing and to punish us. Doubts, doubts that plan like this could work. What if there were more guards than Jake thought? What if they had a silenced pistol or something? It's not as if me, someone who hasn't ridden a bike in years suddenly relearns, masters and wins the race against high ranking racers. I didn't want to disappoint anyone of them or get someone killed because of me.

"I-I'll do it." I gave my answer, Jake's face lit up as he heard that, his smile widened for a short moment until he sighed, and so we began.

 **A few moments later…**

Okay, so what Jake and I did was first; grab a bike, any random bike from the racks so Jake could sit on as I pushed him with it. Jake would aim the weapon, if a guard either noticed us or got in the way. Second thing was; get extra nails for the gun. And finally; to get into place, right outside of the doors ready to strike.

Picking up a small tire iron, I hit the doors to gain the attention of the guards outside, ***Clank, Clank!*** and followed with the plan.

"Hey, I need help! J-Jake he- he won't wake up! Please, help!" I shouted hoping it would convince the guard to open the doors.

We waited… nothing, silence.

 ***Click*** the doors suddenly unlocked and opened up. A guard armed with a wooden baseball bat this time stepped inside scanned the room for us, until he found us. Eyes locked his and mine. Jake still aiming the gun at the guard, even before he locked eyes with me waited until I heard a loud metallic click noise beside me, it was kind of like a *Clang* (I'm never doing sound effects again… ugh.)

The guard then fell to the floor dropping the bat; Jake had fired the weapon directly aimed at the man's forehead. The power of the weapon was enough to pierce through the skull killing him instantly; from where I was standing I couldn't even see the nail sticking out, must've went in …d-deep… ew.

Outside of the door, Jake searched every corner for any sign of another guard or more, but there weren't any thankfully. "Alright, let's get a goin'." Jake readied his gun signalling me to push the bike further out.

All Jake did was point me in the direction to the exit of the stadium that was close by from here. The guards guarding the area were very low on numbers here, so we wouldn't have too much of a problem I had hoped.

Constantly I looked back to that corridor we came from, what if someone found the dead body of the guard Jake killed? How long would it take for most of the guards to storm this section of the stadium?

Finally opening the door we encountered another long corridor leading to another corridor was the exit was. But as we finally reached the halfway point, the door opened behind us.

"HEY!" a guard wearing a blue suit armed with a baton ran up to us. Jake quickly turned around and fired his weapon as fast and as accurate as he could as I pushed the bike towards the exit. The guard was hit in the right shoulder, but it didn't stop him from running at us.

Another guard ran out of the door behind us wearing the same suit as the baton man (didn't know what to name the guy.) only he had a pocket knife with him. As we reached the door, Jake opened it and pushed me inside blocking the door with his entire body and bike shooting a few nails at the guards.

"Sakura, forget about me, run! Save yourself kid!" before I could do anything or try to help him, Jake was grabbed by the two guards and attacked. Quickly I turned around and ran for the exit in front of me.

Nearing halfway down the corridor I heard screaming. Was it Jake's or on of the guards I couldn't tell, I just ran as fast as I could. Suddenly the door opened behind me and out came one of the guards covered in blood on his torso and ran at me.

Reaching for the door handle of the exit, I grabbed it and turned it… it opened. The suns warm light touched my face; it felt good to be out again. But I didn't stay like that for long; the guard was inching closer and closer towards me hearing the echoes of the footsteps becoming louder. I noticed a wired fence I could climb; civilians walking with their Pokemon were just on the other side.

With a running start I jumped up on the fence and climbed as fast as I could. As I reached the top I fell face first over the other side, luckily my arms shielded my fall. I began to cry after I landed on the ground, many of the people walking by asked if I were alright; I begged them to help, to call the police about the stadium.

 **Meanwhile back in the corridor…**

Jake was now alone, bleeding slowly to his death, 'When?' he thought, he did not know. For a while he had been crawling towards the door Sakura left through, each movement felt more and more tiresome than the last, he knew he was almost going to die soon, he didn't want it to end in a cold corridor alone.

Finally opening the door he crawled through, his arms tired, eyes weakened… Jake was afraid.

"Welcome to the 7th Unova Racing Tournament Finals!" A loud announcer-like voice boomed loudly through the corridor startling Jake a little. Looking up, Jake looked up ahead and saw something he had not seen, not felt for years… the sun. Jake then heard a crowd, cheering, applause; he heard them as they cried out his name.

Jake with all of his strength that remained in his dying body as he struggled inch by inch to reach the sun… to reach, the finish line.

As Jake reached halfway, he saw people cheering him on, people he once knew before and during his enslavement within the stadium. Jake assumed he was hallucinating due to the amount of blood he had lost, but he didn't care.

"Yaw da man, dude!" Jake looked over his shoulder to see his older brother Simon who died in a war 10 years prior. Simon was a man who looked up to his little brother and honored his dream to become a racer.

"Win dis sonovabitch for us, yo!"

Jake couldn't hold back a tear from hearing his voice again, even if it were a hallucination. And so he crawled. Jake then began to notice more people and Pokemon he once knew from childhood to adult years. friends, family, neighbors he had a friendly talk with every now and then, all of them cheering his name all voices accurate as if they were truly there.

The announcer spoke again, "Jake Marsh, is inching closer and closer to the finish line. Can he do it!?"

As Jake drew near to the line, towards the sun, he saw another figure… no, two figures of two people he never saw together in a way they were now. His mother Debra Marsh, and his father smiling, are cheering him on together. The arguments they had before they separated, the bitterness they tried to hide whenever in front of either Jake or Simon, all was completely gone and replaced with a happy smile and cheering.

"You can make it!" Smiled his father, something Jake hadn't seen since he was a young boy. "Go for it sweetie!" cheered Debra waving at him. Jake without knowing it waved at the crowed and had almost reached his goal. He was even going faster this time, panting harder and harder as his vision had almost completely faded.

"Look at him GO!" the announcer proudly announced causing the crowed to cheer louder now chanting 'You can do it Jake!' over and over.

Reaching the opened door, the sunlight touched his reaching hand. The warmth alone wasn't enough, he wanted to look upon it, not caring if he were to be blinded by it, he wanted to be embraced upon the suns warm light. With one final pull, he managed to leave the building and turned to the sky to view the sun.

He had finally crossed the finish line.

"Jake Marsh, WINNER!" The cheers erupted loudly… until they faded.

 **5 Hours Later – Lacunose City Hospital – Sakura's POV**

It wasn't long until the police had shown up. One by one reporter trucks parked right outside of the stadium to either film one of the captured people taken away to the nearby hospital or ask them questions, some of them not caring if they were either unconscious or too injured to utter a word other than a painful groan.

The police who had stormed the stadium arrested the guards and of cause Mark surprisingly without a fight or any kind of resistance. Apparently, the Saviors had been searching for Mark on suspicion of being an Annihilation member and for his slavery crimes from other regions.

Zack and I waited for Isaac still being treated after he was kicked in the chest not too long ago. All of our pokemon were given back to us safely without a scratch on them. Marill returned to her ball after a brief wave, and then left without saying a word. Minccino rested her head on my lap as we waited for Isaac to return. Zack when reunited with his Pokemon all hugged him for a long time. Latias was the last one to remain holding onto him as she began to cry, causing the others to either roll their eyes or just smile at her behaviour. After a while Latias levitated over to the large window next to Dewott.

The waiting room was full of the family of the slaves, most of them young, probably their children, and the others were a lot older than most. I noticed the TV had been turned up as a young girl, maybe my age I guess with another girl stood in front of the TV monitor hanging from the wall.

"Recently, the Marsh family mansion was burnt to the ground due to the fierce storm within the Kanto region. The Marsh family wife and young daughter were found dead within the mansion. Elliot Marsh, the father and husband of the deceased and their family pet Eevee remain missing. More details very soon." After that a commercial break began playing. All I could hear were audible crying from someone in the room. Not too long ago, I discovered that Jake Marsh died long before anyone got to him, It made me feel somewhat guilty in way, leaving him to die like that…

"Cinno…" Minccino got up from my lap and gave me a soft hug, I hugged her back. Looking up at the waiting room entrance I noticed Isaac walking up to us with Yamask beside him with a large green lollipop in hand.

"Sup." He waved standing in front of us smiling. "Man, that doc sure speaks a lot."

"You alright, what did the doctor say?" Zack asked scratching the back of his head slightly. "I'm good, just a few bruises that'll heal sometime soon." Yamask then began to poke Isaac with the wet lollipop against his cheek.

"Sakura?" Zack asked as I looked at him. "I'm sorry what happened to Jake."

"Yeah, Jake sure was a hero." Isaac sat down on the chair not to far opposite us with Yamask occupying a chair of his own. "The people that did this, enslaved all of these people, they'll get what's coming to em'."

"Thank you, both of you."

 **A few days Later – Lacunose City Police Dept.**

Mark still locked up was walking within the station with another officer, he was allowed one phone call. Who would you call if you were locked up for doing something so awful like forcing people from the streets as slaves? Your parents? A sibling? A life partner? Or maybe a friend? Mark in a way didn't have a mother or father to talk to anymore. His siblings, he did not know their number, and wouldn't speak to them if he did. Life partner? He was in a way married to his work, he was dedicated to it, life on the outside was nothing compared to what he had… it was something he enjoyed. A friend? He had a few, only a handful of people he considered close…

Mark standing next to the phone as he dialled the numbers, looking back every so often and covering up the numbers to make sure no one or camera noticed.

"Yo, it's me, Mark. I'm here at the-"

"The local police station. I know, I saw it on the TV… *sighs*" Sweat began to form on his forehead. His heart began to beat faster, his muscles tensed.

 ***Blinking Rapidly***

"Now Mark; Why don't you tell me what happened? Oh and do not worry, this connection is between us. I made sure that no one will ever trace us."

Mark gulped, looking over his shoulder he began to notice one or two people looking at him. _'Keep it cool Man, just… k-keep it cool.'_ Two things happened at that instance that almost made Mark scream out loud; first was that he noticed the police officer who had escorted him to the phone was standing very close to him. And second was what was on his neck he saw reflecting from the window just behind the phone booth.

"Right now, if you didn't realise yet, I have hired an assassin to come and finish you off should you do any of the following things; moving away from the window, hanging up on me, or running away. The assassin I hired is is one of the best. Never misses if I recall from his M.O." The laser dot on his neck went away. Mark felt slightly relaxed that the dot was gone, but he somehow felt that he was still being aimed at with a hired killer with a gun that would end his life.

"The police t-they uh… *coughs* they s-showed up and arrested us all and uh, yeah, t-that's about it." Silence followed. The corridor Mark and the police officer were standing in too became silent. _'Talk to him again you idiot! Do something man!'_ Mark shouted to himself hoping that he could reason with Juro, to let him live.

"Now tell me, how did the police arrive?" Juro asked sounding as calm Mark wanted to be. Whenever Mark panicked, he could never think straight, he always rushed, made mistakes. How he wished he had Juro's patients.

"T-t-they uh… arrived in their cars?" Mark smirked at his response, almost slapping himself for that.

"They arrived in a car…really? You sure they didn't arrive in a flying donut? That would be the day now, wouldn't it?" Juro gave a small chuckle.

"O-oh w-wait a sec! I do remember, a few hours before we were caught, we did capture this girl and her companions. One of em' was a member of the Saviors."

"A Savior then?" Juro asked Mark responding with a silent nod to which Juro couldn't see over the phone. "Tell me do Savior members have devices they carry, often known as Savior Devices?"

Mark lightly scratched his head trying to think back at the items he and his guards examined at the office, everything from the cash, potions, even to a small journal belonging to Isaac, but not a Savior Device.

"I uh… don't seem to recall such a thing." Mark cringed as he heard Juro heavily sigh.

"Mark, Savior Devices have something built inside them that keep track of the user, updating every 24 hours of their current location and mission status." Mark stood there and waited for Juro to speak again, again he heard another sigh.

 ***Blinking Rapidly***

"Meaning, the saviours would've tracked the device to your location. Also, YOU and our operation would've been caught anyway!" Mark didn't respond after that, he just didn't have anything left to say, not an apology or anything.

"Do you know how I see you? An example; I see my Annihilation as a kitchen in a way, and I am the chef. The project to work a slave to repair weapons and create new Animated corpses was left to you now failed. I once saw it as a pot of delicious food about to be served… but then a random fly happens to mess it all up by landing in it! You Mark, you are that fly… you ruined 8 years of my plan you moron!"

The police officer standing right next to him began to notice the yelling from the phone Mark was still using. With each insult Juro shouted just made Mark frustrated with annoyance.

 ***Blinking Level=Ultimate***

"They arrived in cars (!) What kind of answer is that!?" And what followed after that sentence was the glass window breaking with a loud smash.

Did Mark die by the assassin that day? Was the window breaking caused by Mark hitting it with the receiver caused by rage at hearing Juro scald him? Or was it a bullet? My friends and I never questioned him after that, it was just one of those things we didn't want to talk about anymore. We never saw him again after that, and so his fate remained ambiguous from us.

To be continued...

Audio Entry 02/02 - Child soldier joining Annihilation

Recorded-Unknown Date

Other-N/A

Note found on back of tape: _The child joining will be called R for the first week to hide his identity until acceptance into Team Annihilation._

The tape begins, Juro speaks first. "Have a seat please." Sound of a chair is head being pulled, silence for a moment.

"I hear you want to join us, please state your reasons." Muffled sounds from the outside of the room can be heard… it is currently unknown what the sounds are at the moment. **[Scanning in progress]**

"I want to get away from things... Things like family, trainers and stuff." The boy speaks into the microphone.

"You didn't want to become a trainer? Do you have any gym leaders or elite four members you want to battle some day?" Juro chuckles softly.

"Not really." The sighs, followed by a short sigh. "I-I wanted to do a job that matters, fame doesn't interest me that much. Travelling around a region seems boring to me…"

"You know, we normally don't accept children into our organization."

"I'm not a child." Silence for a few seconds. Voices from outside of the room can be picked up but the voices are too muffled to pick up.

"Say if we allowed you to join our cause, then what?"

"I would want training, I want to become strong and help in any way I can for Team Annihilation."

Juro sighs, "A 12 year old like yourself could... well I suppose we could teach you the basics on how to use a weapon properly and CQC."

"CQC?" a loud banging noise is heard 2 seconds prior to the boys last word.

"Close Quarter Combat. One of our members will be like a mentor to you, so whatever they say you do it, okay?"

"Yes sir."

"Welcome to Team Annihilation, son." Silence….

*Audio tape skips to another conversation with Juro and an unknown member of Annihilation*

An adult male's voice can be heard on the tape. "Why are you accepting children into this team? Children have no place here." Gunfire can be heard from multiple guns, it is possible they are from a training area.

"16 already have asked us and signed the form to join Annihilation. Most of these children have lost those that have been taken from them. Harming innocents wasn't and isn't my plan."

The unidentified man sighs, "You know, other members have asked if they could bring their children here, they believe it will be safer for them. I suppose we could ask Martha if she would want to take in more children here."

*Silence for a 1 and a half minute.*

"But they want to fight with us!" the unidentified man shouts hitting a hard hollow surface.

"We need all the help we can get to end this war with those scum of this diseased planet. Every Annihilation member will help us achieve our goals. I have waited far too long for my dream to become a reality, soon that dream will be."

*Audio tape ends.*

Actions:

Find out the identity of the child soldier is.

The Annihilation member Martha is confirmed still alive. Savior ranks 01 and 02 must deal with her as soon as possible.

 **[ACTION DELETED]**


	27. Chapter 27 Friends

**AN: Since my computer has encountered a few problems (again) i may have to skip next week. So if chapter 28 isn't uploaded by next week then my computer is still in the fixing stage again. Enjoy chapter 28 and thanks for reading this story so far, thanks ya'll.**

Chapter 27 – Friends 

I awoke that morning laughing quietly to myself. The dream I had was strange for some reason. In the dream, I was at a circus in an unnamed city or town, I'm not really sure where though. Anyway, it seemed that I were the only one apart from the performers inside the circus tent (or whatever they're called.) the performers whose faces were blurry, not in a frightening appearance but in a way it wasn't a threat to me.

The performers jumped around, juggled with a few Pokeballs back and forth to one another very slowly, like time had slowed down for them. Standing up from where I was, I tried to walk out of the tent, but standing in front of me was a clown with a goofy face laughing in a silly.

The clown raised his fist above his head and punched me right in the jaw, but in a comic book-like way with a massive 'POW!' behind me followed by a strange sound effect. What made me wake up laughing wasn't that alone, it was what followed after the sound effect played.

Weirdly, my lower jaw detached and flew across the other side of the tent. Still in motion I struggled to shout out, "Mah JAH!" (My jaw) weird…

Sitting up in bed I looked around the room of the rest room provided by the cities Pokemon center we booked last night after leaving the hospital. Both Sakura and Isaac were still asleep. Dewott and Latias who were still sleeping at the end of the bed holding one another, " _They seem to be spending a lot of time together."_ I thought as I began to stand up to get changed into some clothes before I left for the reception. I wanted to call my mom about what has been going on since I left Nuvema town, it was already 9.30 so she was already awake, she always was every morning.

The counter was full of young trainers and their Pokemon all demanding to be seen by the nurse attempting to calm each one down and to assure them that they would be seen shortly. The phone booth was in the waiting area a room away from the shouting kids almost.

With a short dial later, my mom Ayaka answered the call with a bright smile I always saw on her happy days, guessing today was one of them.

"Hello Zackary, how are things with the Saviors?"

"They're pretty mixed in terms of how I feel at the moment." I had to be honest with her, most of the time I have faced dangerous criminals and near death experiences. The only thing I had gained from this was making some friends and some cash, something I could've earned if I travelled unova for the title of champion. I explained this to her as best I could without detailing it too much or without frightening her too much about it.

"Zack…" she gave off a heavy sigh with a concerned look. "Please, please be more careful when you're out there. I have heard the stories about what happens to Savior members out in the world. You know I worry about it."

"I'll be careful, I promise." Mom looked relaxed, but her expression seemed to be forced. Her smile quickly returned.

"Well anyway, Yuri and her friends ordered pizza and watched some movies last night, so it was kind've a girl's night in really, I didn't join in on them, yuri wouldn't have it." We both laughed at the last part.

"And your father unfortunately is working the next two months, he says the project he is working on is important. If it all goes well he might even get a promotion."

Henry was a man at a young age I called dad… for the first yew years of me and Yuri knowing him. Now most of the time he is spending weeks or possibly even months away from home, it's like every time he shows up he is different, not just in appearance like his different clothing or anything like that, but to me and Yuri… it's like he is a stranger to us.

We spoke on the phone for another minute before we had to end the call. Ayaka had to go out soon and needed to get ready. Walking back to the entrance I noticed the kids from before had already gone. I hadn't really thought about it before but, what if I had gone a different route in life? If I hadn't traversed down the life of being a Savior, risking my life every day, would I have met Sakura and Isaac? Would I be travelling with others I call friends? Or would I be alone?

"Yo, Zack!" Isaac called out from the corridor followed by Sakura with Minccino and Dewott and Latias levitating. "You got a message on that beeper ma-thingy, Dewott got nosy like always and read it, he says you got the day off after yesterdays kidnapping." Dewott walked over to Isaac and kicked him in the shin causing Isaac to yell out in pain. Dewott then walked back to Latias with a sly grin plastered on his face.

" _A day off huh…?"_ I thought looking up at the ceiling, _"What can I do here in Lacunose? I've never been here before… maybe I'll just watch movie in the room and watch vids on the internet for a while."_ That was basically my life; I was just a kid who never hanged out with anyone other than Latias back home. What did Latias and I do to hang out? Play video games, TV and movies. No interaction from others unless I had to go to school, which I never did get that much interaction unless it was a taunt or other small thing.

"You know, we could leave our Pokemon here and look around the city for a while. Let's have fun for once." Sakura said with a smile as she petted Minccino.

A simple 'yes' or a 'no'… a 'maybe' of 'I'll think about it'. These choices came to mind when asked by others to join in on them, but most of the time it was usually a way for others to take advantage to get me into trouble or just to ditch me because I was seen as either boring or quiet.

But what did I want? Sakura and Isaac both seemed like good people, they didn't seem like the type to abandon or to betray you. Then why did I join the saviors if they rely on teamwork then? Was it to obtain my dream faster, fearing of living a lifeless life? Or was it to make some friends that I lacked in life. Latias, Dewott, Totodile, Bayleef, Lugia, and Golett, these 6 Pokemon chose to go with me, not one of them had left me like the others had. Sakura and Isaac stood there waiting for my answer.

"Alright, I'll go." I answered back. Both of them looked happy with this response. Walking to the nurse joy behind the counter, they handed over their Pokemon. Dewott and Latias proceeded to walk up to the counter to join the others while we left to hang out for the day.

 **Lacunose City - Main Street**

The streets were filled with many people and Pokemon alike. All walking to their own destination, work, spending time with friends, shopping and things like that, but where were we going I wondered. What kind of things would we do to hang out today?

There was something else I noticed about this city, with the crowd here it was quiet, not eerie quiet, but relaxing. The peace would've been nicer if the streets didn't have a weirdly strong scent of old cardboard throughout the air and food from the nearby restaurants.

"Yo," Isaac said next to us as we walked "So I was thinking about going to the Lacunose Bright Star Club around here. It's a pretty good place to get some drinks and just relax you know, have some fun once in a while."

"You've been here before?" I asked noticing Isaac was smiling throughout the walk.

"Sure have, my friends and I came here a few times during the summers before high school began again. Luckily this place has an adult section and teen's section, so we're golden."

Some kind of club we're going to then… I've never been to a club before so I wasn't sure what I thought about it. Anxious, nervous *sighs* it was a mixture of both. But I was sure there was something else there, or maybe I mistook it for the other two, in a way I felt… excited about it? Maybe.

Now arriving at the Lacunose Bright Star Club I noticed a few others enter the club, probably about our age. The club was playing some kind of dubstep… I didn't recognise the song from out there.

Once we entered the club the music echoed throughout the entire area almost overlapping the talking from others sitting down at the tables to the walls. The club looked smaller from outside, there must've been like a hundred people in here, most dancing whilst some sat down drinking what appeared to be some soda. There was this blue light that kept on hitting me in the face multiple times, so I just walked over to the bar area. Looking back, I noticed Isaac and Sakura had followed me… as well as that blue light from the entrance… *sighs*

"Quite the place, huh?" Isaac raised his voice over the loud music that continued to play. Sakura and I smiled and nodded since none of us wanted to raise our voices too much.

Looking back at the crowd I noticed a few old people sat at the tables, in fact, a good amount of the people in this section of the club were elderly.

"Zack! Do you want to dance!?" Sakura asked loud enough so that I could hear her above the music. Facing her I replied, "I'm not a dancer, I don't know how!" I was honest about that, but Sakura grabbed me by hand and pulled me into the dance floor chuckling.

"Come on, move your arms like this!" she let go of my hand and raised her arms above her head moving her body to the beat of the music. So I just went for it.

Raising my arms to the sides I just… just did any movement that I thought could class as average dancing. Sakura in front of me still dancing and still grinning widely, I almost forgot about what others would think of me dancing like I did… I had fun, I was laughing.

 **Isaac's POV**

Sakura had dragged Zack to the dance floor and began talking; the music being this loud made it impossible for me to pick it up. After a short while they began dancing…

…dancing…

"Why did you come here then?" The music, it had almost faded, the scene changed but it was still the same place, but a different time. Isaac looked up and sitting up on the stool beside him was someone who he had not seen in years… someone he had missed greatly, it was a Pokemon, a Shinx smiling up at him.

"Look master." Shinx turned her gaze towards the same dance floor Zack and Sakura where, but there were only two people there now. Isaac and his girlfriend younger, dancing like they were the only two people left on the planet. Isaac turned away from the memory,

"I… I don't want to disappoint anyone… I mean, I want to be free, free from being trapped with responsibilities." I sighed staring glumly at the drinks from behind the counter.

"Isn't it odd that you are talking to a hallucination right now? I'm not truly here and I will tell you what I told you last we saw one another; you are not useless or a disappointment, I believe you will find what you are looking for… just don't give up without trying."

"It is odd that I am talking to you… a memory of her. If you were truly Shinx; I'd ask how you were doing right now or if you missed me… something like that. Each day just gets harder and harder…"

"Why did you come here?" Shinx smiled leaning closer to me raising her eyebrow… I remembered she did things like that, like a tactic to make me talk or something like that.

"I guess it was something that came to mind, arriving in this city caused me to remember this place, why we came here during the summer."

"Then why don't you see her again? Go to her, master, go to Juliet." Shinx's voice faded and the music from before picked up as if someone turned up the volume. I was back in reality again.

Looking over at the stool Shinx was at or a memory of her, her words, 'Go to her Isaac, go to Juliet.' Made me just want to get up and go, just leave… but I couldn't… I cannot return to her unless I have the money to save her… I couldn't let her go…

I began to take a small sip from the cola I ordered and smiled and chuckled to myself at how I was reminded of those things and wanted to have fun instead of being a downer.

" _Have fun Isaac, forget about it for now."_

The music continued to play, the dancing continued… but when would my life continue to what it was before Juliet became hospitalized I wondered. I had hoped soon, and together we can dance badly again like we did during that summer.

 **2 hours Later - Lacunose City Mall**

We left the club after a few drinks and about an hour's worth of dancing. Isaac never danced despite Sakura playfully pulling his arm to join her more than three times. One 2 occasions, a girl or two would look over at the table we sat at, in Isaac's direction not glancing over at me since I was sitting very close to Sakura who she was talking to me a lot.

She told me that while I was asleep last night, Latias was playing with my hair a few hours after I had fallen asleep wanting to know if this was the first time knowing about it, after asking Isaac to translate why Latias has done it before which she replied that she in fact has done in the past, but won't give a reason why.

" _Must've been a playful thing Pokemon do."_ I told myself at the time.

The conversation then changed to one about what she wanted to be at a younger age, I learnt that she wanted to become an actress, she gave it up to do something else when she turned 10, why? She never said except it involved something to do with her mother, so I never pried. So instead we talked about Pokemon for a while, discussing between ourselves about a balanced and unbalanced team. Sakura then told me she wanted to obtain another Pokemon for her team, so she started talking about how she discovered that there was this store where they sold Pokemon. And so, we were on our way.

We began walking through the Lacunose city mall to go into some of the stores they had inside, but we wanted to find the Pokemon store first before we go somewhere else.

We eventually found the place in the end… it was right next to the front entrance of the damned place, no map, no sign or anything like that to tell any customer where the store was located, it had taken us over 30 minutes of searching to find it… *sighs*

Together we entered the Pokemon store where anyone could purchase a Pokemon looking for a potential owner/trainer of their choice. The Pokemon can be any type or gender of their choice. Certain forms of Pokemon sometimes cost far more than their pre evolved forms, so customers rarely chose the expensive ones leaving the others without a trainer for a while or given away for a cheaper price.

The store only had the three of us and the shop clerk behind the counter hiding his face from reading a magazine about tech and robotics, the magazine was called; 'Tech & Mecha'

The store looked like any old Pokemon store, rows and rows of different Pokemon, a large computer-like device where you could browse for a certain Pokemon or place an order for one to be delivered, and a few accessories like held items on the shelves.

Pokemon that I walked passed all seemed to be sleeping soundly in their cages, Pokemon such as a Koffing, Mareep, a Zubat and even a Zorua. Isaac was talking to two Pokemon, a Sandshrew and Raticate asking them if they liked it here both replying with a happy cry of their species name.

Sakura walking through one of the aisles marked as 'Large/Once Owned' Pokemon, they were all in larger cages, much larger to the ones at the entrance. Sakura stopped as she noticed one Pokemon resting its head on a hollow log placed inside its cage. It was a Salamence staring glumly at the small rocks beneath its feet.

"That there Pokemon lost its owner a few months ago." Sakura looked back to see the clerk was right behind her with his hands in his pockets, he had a long white beard wearing a cap backwards. The clerk kneeled down closer to the cage.

"No nickname was given so I just call it Salamence like the species."

"What happened to its owner?" Sakura asked kneeling down next to the clerk in front of the cage. The clerk opened the cage slightly and placed some food inside a small empty tray besides the Salamence, only for it to sniff the food slightly and returned to resting its head on the log.

"The owner died of old age. So in the end they brought in this here Salamence hoping that someone would find 'em a new home." Sakura looked up at the price tag labelled above the cage, '1500 half price offer' Sakura was planning on buying another small Pokemon, something less than 1000. Thinking about this for a while, she felt bad about leaving the Pokemon like this who had just recently lost its owner, so she asked the clerk if she could buy the Salamence, the clerk smiled and said she could.

At the store counter the clerk gave Sakura Salamence's inside its Pokeball and a 'How to look after a Salamence' manual after handing him the money to pay for the new Pokemon.

Walking out of the store now we decided to head back to the center so we could introduce the new member to the others, and then head back out again to explore the city.

 **Lacunose City Pokemon Center rest room**

So there we were sat down on the carpeted floor in the room we had slept last night surrounded by all of our Pokemon waiting patiently for Sakura to release Salamence from the Pokeball she now held in her hand. (Luckily the room was large enough for Lugia to be in.)

"Okay," Sakura smiled pressing the small button to enlarge the Pokeball in hand. "This is Salamence; let's give it a warm welcome."

A red beam of light emerged from the ball as it opened, Salamence materialized right in the middle of the room eyes in every direction where myself, Sakura, Isaac and our Pokemon where. Salamence's eyes lids shut due to anxiety, its entire body began shaking slightly, so Sakura kneeled closer to the Salamence.

"Salamence?" the Salamence opened one of its eyes staring directly at Sakura. "My name is Sakura, I'm your new owner." Sakura reaches into her pocket and pulls out a few oran berries offering them to Salamence.

Salamence cautiously leaned its head closer to her hand and sniffed the berries. Salamence looked around the room again at us and then back at the berries in Sakura's hand… it took one of them and bit into it… *Swallow* (Yeah, I'm using sound effects for this.)

The Salamence smirked and leaned in closer to Sakura's hand full of berries and ate them greedily. Sakura with her free hand reached out to lightly stroke its head as it ate. Upon feeling her touch, Salamence flinched back closing its eyes tightly.

"It's alright," Sakura whispered softly as she lightly touched and stroked Salamence's head, opening its eyes looking up at her. Salamence leaned in and continued to eat the berries.

The Pokemon one by one approached Salamence introducing one another and starting a few long conversations about themselves and their trainers. Through Isaac translating some of their speech we learnt that they all refereed Isaac as 'The weird one' Sakura as 'Saku' and me; everyone except Golett all call me by my first name, Golett calls me 'Mr Raines' it's kind've strange that Golett called me that, it made me sound like I was older than I was.

The sun almost set we decided to go to the restaurant here, it was called the 'Lacunose Golden Restaurant' the best one in the city apparently. Stores began closing and people on the streets lessened, going home, a night out with friends or other things. Music began playing throughout the street, not from the club we visited, but from other restaurants and bars now opening due to the late hours of the day.

 **Lacunose City Golden Restaurant**

The restaurant was quite fancy from the interior view, on the outside it looked like any old burger joint. The walls were painted with some kind of ancient Kanto style drawings with a few legendaries at every wall. The people sitting down at their own table were either sitting with another opposite them, with small and large families, a large group of friends laughing and joking amongst one another. It was a strange place for me, never in my life I thought I would be eating in a place like this.

Sitting at a circular table near the restaurants side window, we were both given a menu to order from. The menu wasn't expensive or too rich for us, just regular food for a night out.

"Ya know," Isaac spoke gaining our attention, "when was the last time we ever did something like this? Just spending the day together without anyone shooting at us?" all of us started laughing together.

"I'm really glad I could travel with you guys, it has made my search for the herb less empty without you."

"Were you travelling long before we met?" Sakura asked, Isaac shook his head, "Only for a couple of months travelling throughout the southern parts of Unova."

Isaac stared briefly out of the window before speaking again, "Before I left my hometown, I had this Pokemon who lived with me and my grandmother. She was my first Pokemon friend I ever talked to after my grandmother gave me the herb to help communicate with Pokemon," Isaac smiled slightly,

"She was a Shinx, together we talked, became friends. She then told me before I left elementary about her dream; she wanted to find out where she came from." Isaac chuckled lightly to himself, "And as soon as we finished that conversation, I began asking myself what I wanted… in the end, I came up with the only solution, something that was staring me right in my face; to find the herb my great-grandmother found when she was young and give it to others so that people from all over the world can communicate with their Pokemon. The region of the exact location of the herb is unknown so far, but I know it's out there somewhere… that is my dream."

Isaac smiled then turned his head towards the window again. Sakura leaned in and asked "Do you have any sort of clues to where this herb is?" Isaac shook his head and responded with a "No, nothing." A task like that is like finding a needle in a haystack, an extremely large haystack.

"Have you thought about going to other regions to find the herb?" Sakura asked Isaac as he turned towards us, "Once I have searched this region properly, I'll move onto the next one. Don't worry about it, I got this." Isaac smiled and gave a thumbs up.

"I spoke with the other Pokemon yesterday, our Pokemon all have their own dreams they wish to fulfil in life." Isaac paused holding his glass of water in hand. Isaac told us what our Pokemon wanted in life, from being strong, travelling the world, living a life or peace and quiet to… then it came to Dewott.

Dewott grew up in a city once before being found by Professor Juniper. His family had been killed by a Houndoom and remained alone since then. Dewott revealed to Isaac that for his dream he wanted to raise a family. After Isaac told us this, it made me think back at how Dewott and Latias had been spending a lot of time together since Dewott had evolved.

A slight smile formed at the thought of the two together, _"Go for it you two."_

"You know something," Sakura said in an almost whisper tone "I talked with my mom recently… I'm going home soon."

"When are you leaving?" I asked as she looked up at me.

"When we reach Castelia city, that's where my mom will be waiting for me so we can go home together. It's not that I don't want to travel with you guys anymore; it's just that by travelling with you… I believe I have found what I wanted to do. And that is to become a doctor like my mom once. It'll take years to study to become one, but it's what I want to do. Zack, you have become a member of the Saviors to help people. I want to help people by doing this."

"It is something I thought about for a while now. So… until we reach Castelia city, all of us go our own separate ways." There was a small silence. The waiter arrived and served our food we had ordered.

"I'm glad we met and travelled together. I just wish we had a much safer travel without people trying to kill us." all of us laughed at that and the mood lightened up.

And so for the rest of the meal we just talked amongst ourselves, about our dreams, our future travels, and our separate paths we would one day approach. It would take another week or so to reach Castelia city again, a long distance away, but in time a short one.

I had wondered sitting there while we ate our meal together if our dreams, our future travels, and our separate paths would one day finally join up once more.

To be continued...

Character Bio 01/02 - Latias

Latias first met Zack when she was a young Pokémon. She found Zack's home after flying into the fence knocking her out. Zack with the help of his mother Ayaka helped her inside and treated her wounds. Zack liked Latias and wanted to keep her, but Latias didn't like him and wanted to leave.

A few weeks passed by and her attitude never improved as she didn't trust him still. When Zack was supposed to take Latias to the lab for a checkup, Zack was attacked by a group of bullies from school. The bullies attacked Zack after he stopped one of them from pulling Latias' ears and wing. Zack told her to escape but Latias helped Zack after realizing Zack was a nice person who only wanted to protect her and become friends. Since then, Zack and Latias have become great friends.

Lee a member of the Saviors is currently looking into why a Latias was roaming Unova prior to meeting Zack Raines. Lee has come up with the possible scenarios; Latias was abandoned by trainer/owner for unknown reasons. Parents of Latias lived in the Unova region but were attacked by unknown party (Since Latias was injured upon discovery.) so far, no other eon Pokemon have been sighted in the Unova region at all.


	28. Chapter 28 - The Dark Forest

Chapter 28 - The Dark Forest 

**Somewhere at the edge of Route 13**

A man of average height and muscular build wearing black uniform, not formal enough for meetings, for work, no tie wrapped around the neck, but this suit belonged to one of Unova and The Savior's highest threat; Team Annihilation.

The man crouched down beside a small river with a machete in his right hand, and a piece of paper in the other with a set of photos and documents beside each one.

The man then noticed a small Joltik licking at the machetes blade almost as the sharp edge. Carefully, the man placed the machete to the ground and lightly with his index finger stroke the Joltik.

"Hey there little one, beautiful day today, hmm?" the little Joltik smiled at him and turned on its back allowing the man to tickle the Joltik laughing with little sparks touching him, but the uniform he wore protected him from harm.

"You best on scram, ya hear? This place is gonna get noisy believe it or not." The Joltik smiled and ran away towards the trees out of sight.

"Man, what is he doing? Praying to the almighty Arceus again like he did yesterday?" The Annihilation member who said that was wearing the same getup as the one crouched; he was smaller in size, not much muscle on him and was carrying an assault rifle aiming at multiple leaves on a distant tree to the other side of the river.

Beside him was a female Annihilation member carrying a handgun also aiming at nearby leaves with the laser sight on.

"Nah, I wouldn't bet on it," She replied shaking her head "He's probably-"

"Probably planning out the best attack plan for the trio?" The man interrupted her standing up to face the two "It is best if we wait right in this here ol' spot, right in a good view of the mountain… blow up the path with them on it *sighs*… boom." He then crouched back down grabbing a small black device from his belt pressing a few buttons.

The two soldiers stood by one another, their attention focused on the crouched solider. "Do you have them? Are they there yet?" he said starring directly at the device in his clutched hand.

The soldier with the assault rifle aimed directly at the mountain Cliffside adjusting the aim to see three small figures walking on the path. "Targets in sight, light them up in… walking distance… 1 minute."

 **Route 13 Cliffside**

We had left Lacunose city early that morning slightly angry. Both Isaac and Sakura remained quiet as we walked on the mountain path to reach our next destination. The view below was full of a dark green and blue rivers stretching out towards the distance. We chose to walk this path wanting to admire the view of the forest below, but all we got was a walk, a silent walk ignoring the view.

"I can't believe you stole my money, and after the day we had yesterday!" Isaac argued with Sakura as we walked. Sakura became irritated at the accusation but chose to remain silent for a bit longer.

"2000! That's how much you took from me! I needed it…"

Dewott holding on to my left shoulder as we walked rolled his eyes at him as he covered his eyes. They had argued ever since we trekked up the mountain path. This morning, Sakura was organizing the supplies before we checked out of the center, mine and Sakura's bag were set on the table, Isaac however left his jacket between our bags, it is where he keeps his money and other items and such in the zipper pockets.

After we left the center, Isaac began shuffling through his pockets one by one as he noticed his money was now gone.

Running back to the center he searched, the entrance, waiting room, even the bed he slept in last night, nothing. He checked the streets, but in the end he remembered something, he had left his jacket between the bags, where Sakura had been.

It started off as 'Did you take my money?' then 'Why did you take it?' and finally raising his voice a lot more, 'You little thief, I needed that!'

Sakura denied stealing anything from Isaac at first, but as the accusations from Isaac continued, Sakura began swearing at him and on a few occasions tried to hit him or send Minccino to attack.

"For the hundredth time, I never took anything from your jacket or touched it!"

"Then why were you poking around my jacket then? Looking for some extra bucks?" He gritted his teeth still facing forward ignoring Sakura's heated gaze at him.

"I was sorting out our inventory in mine and Zack's bags. I wasn't touching you stupid jacket." Sakura rolled her eyes turning away from Isaac.

Isaac leaned towards me covering his mouth but continued to stare at Sakura, "Better check your items Zack, she could've stolen something from you too."

Sakura then stopped, her free hand clenched tightly her head face down she uttered, "I didn't take anything from you." I stopped as I heard that looking back at her, Isaac however continued walking. Sakura looked up at Isaac and gritted her teeth.

"Hey! I didn't take your mo-"

At that moment my vision blurred momentarily, but I could still see everything as if time slowed down. I was falling, Dewott was not on my shoulder anymore, and I couldn't see where he was or the others. 'Why was I falling?' I asked myself starting to feel numb. My vision then faded to darkness.

 **Sometime later**

Silence….

Darkness….

" _Am I dead? But if I am dead, why can I still hear my thoughts? Nothing but darkness here…"_ Suddenly I felt like I was lying down on something solid, I could feel it beneath me.

"You gonna wake up kiddo?" I heard a voice, a woman's voice beside me. Opening my eyes I was looking up at the blue sky, turning my head to the side I saw a woman sitting beside a tree smiling at me. Her skin was pale like she hadn't been outside much… or she looked sick, I don't know.

Anyway, uh… her brown hair was long reaching to her back. From the looks of it, she was wearing some kind of ribbon on top of her head, there was a pattern in the middle of the ribbon, like the infinity symbol, you know, the one that's like an 8.

Her clothing was odd to be out in the route, she was wearing a bright red dress with an apron on top. Sitting up I asked, "Um, what happened? Where am I?" I asked as she giggled to herself.

"You fell off that cliff with your friends," she pointed towards the mountain behind me. From where I was, it was like I fell half a mile away… I just came to the conclusion that she dragged me here. "I thought you were dead when I found you, but I'm guessin' you're still alive now, hm?" she smiled again resting her head back on the tree.

"She looks… familiar somehow" I had asked myself wondering why she looked familiar to me. I just shook my head.

"Where are the others?" I had asked hoping to get an answer, but as soon as I had asked that, her smile changed into a completely blank expression, both of her arms falling to the ground.

"You shouldn't be here…" they way she sounded; it was monotone, no emotion in her voice, nothing like her cheerful self from before. She stood up now facing towards me. "You are a failure, while we… are perfect." From the trees came about 20 people and different Pokemon maybe more, all with the same emotionless expression as the woman.

The people and Pokemon that emerged from the trees were covered in dirt and blood. _"What the heck?"_ looking back at the woman her appearance turned into that of a reanimated corpse, bones and flesh exposed, no pupils in their eyes.

" **We are perfect beings!"** The booming voice caused me to wake up with a gasp. I was dreaming again. The last time I had a dream like that was back in Accumula town.

Standing up, like my dream I was about half a mile away from the mountain I fell off of, or flew without so much a scratch on me, but I did feel a little sore at the base of my neck. Standing up I noticed my bag was gone, all of my Pokemon were stored in there, and my Saviors Device, so calling for help or to look up a map of this place was gone for now

 **The Waterfall**

"Just my luck, first my money is stolen, and now I am thrown off a damned mountain by some stupid earth-like quake!" Isaac narrowed his eyes at the small river he stood beside. Isaac had a few cuts and bruises on his forehead, but Isaac ignored them as a thought came into his head, _"What happened to the others? Are they safe?"_

Isaac glumly looked down at the small leaves that drifted through the river and thought about he had argued with Sakura, despite through everything they had gone through had accused her of stealing.

Isaac sighed and placed his hand over one of the open cuts on his forehead _"I should look for them…"_ shaking his head slightly at the thought, there was a rustling in bushes behind him.

Isaac without thinking picked up a small rock and faced the bush shouting out, "Who's there?" Isaac expected to hear a response, a few seconds passed but all he got was silence. Moving closer to the bush the entire forest grew silent.

"I won't ask again!" Isaac ordered one last time at whatever was in the bush to show it's self. But what startled Isaac wasn't that the person in the bush emerged, it was a girl around his age perhaps older with green spiky hair. She wore a green one suit with gloves and carried around a worn basket full of herbs and berries.

"P-pl-please… d-don't hurt me," she pleaded shielding herself with the basket, "I-I'm j-just c-collect-ing some ingredients a-around here."

Isaac dropped the rock letting it fall to the ground smiling awkwardly, "U-uh, sorry about that, I thought you were… something nasty, like a wild Pokemon that'll attack… things." Isaac face palmed at what he had just said whilst cursing a few swears in his head.

With a cough he attempted to start again. "I'm sorry if I uh, scared you, I thought you were a wild Pokemon."

The girl lowered the basket, but she remained cautious of him. "If I heard right, where you collecting herbs and berries?" He asked taking a step forward.

"Uh… y-yeah. My parents own a small herbal shop at the edge of route 13." She showed Isaac her basket almost full of various herbs and berries.

"Could I follow you back to your shop? I need to call for help." Isaac explained what had happened with the mountain and their separation, the girl who revealed her name to be April agreed to this and walked together through the forest.

"The forest can be dangerous at times," she said glancing over her shoulder at times. "My dad last week was attacked by a strange Pokemon, as well as about 10 or so travellers by the same Pokemon my dad described. Adult human sized with a strong vile smell with a few disturbing details like it was injured in a battle not long ago."

"What?" Isaac then stopped. The description April made caused him to connect the description of the creature seen within the forest with an animated corpse. Isaac attempted to grab a Pokeball from his belt, but he stopped remembering that they were gone upon waking up near the waterfall. So instead he quickly grabbed April by the hand.

"Whaa? W-what are you-" April was cut off as Isaac began running through the forest path.

"We gotta get out of here and get help. It's not safe!" Isaac said between breaths looking back every few steps they took hearing strange noises from time to time. Trees rustling through the forest, to strange moans/the wind playing tricks on him, he couldn't risk it by slowing down.

" _Damn it! I gotta be quick. I have to get help! Zack, Sakura, I'm not gonna leave you behind!"_

 **Meanwhile somewhere deeper in the forest**

As I continued walking through the forest for about an hour now, I began to wonder if I had been walking in circles. For example; there was an oddly shaped large conjoined boulder that looked like Weezing on top of a moss covered tree stump.

"Sighs… Just great…" I stood next to the Weezing like rock and examined it more closely. Everything was the same the first time I looked upon this boulder, from the large mark on the side and how a few mushrooms had grown beside the tree stump was 5 in total… still five. Yep, it was official, I was now lost.

A few minutes had passed since I found out that I had been going in circles leaned sitting down against the boulder with a long stick in hand just staring up at the sky above the treetops. The forest wasn't quiet much, just a few pokemon in the distance calling their species name to another. It was peaceful, quiet like the forest near Nuvema Town me and Latias used to explore back when we were younger.

 ***SNAP!***

My eyes widened as I heard that loud snap behind me, or somewhere behind the trees. It was a snap not from a small branch, but it sounded like a tree had fell hitting a rock. Clutching the stick in both hands using it as a weapon I stayed still waiting for whatever caused the noise to act again.

I waited and waited, but nothing came. Thinking the noise was just a random tree falling on its own I lowered the stick and relaxed my arms.

Like with the cliff before, something had emerged from the trees so fast I didn't react or hear it. The thing that jumped over the boulder and almost hitting me with one of its hind legs was a Rhyhorn roaring loudly as it made contact on the soft ground.

" _Whoa!"_ Amazed as I saw it land like that was amazing, the way the sun shinned down on the Rhyhorn's body through the trees like it was posing in a way Pokemon photographers would love to take.

It was too bad this scene ended as the Rhyhorn noticed me, growling as it narrowed its eyes raising its front leg as if it were ready to charge at me.

" _Aw dang it, w-what do I do here? What did Lee tell me about how to handle wild Pokemon?"_ I then imagined my time at the Pokemon center in Driftviel city not too long ago when Lee spoke to me on the Saviors Device. He gave me advice about Pokemon and the do's and does not's on wild Pokemon.

"Remember kid, whenever you're faced with a wild Pokemon be they territorial or roamers, always show them that you are not a threat. And if that don't work, run like hell!" That memory ended with Lee's laughter, I was pretty sure that running away would cause any wild Pokemon to chase them rather than fleeing. Since it was Lee giving the advice and how he knew Pokemon well, I decided on the first thing; Show them I am not a threat.

Dropping the stick I raised my hands in the air, nervously smiling. "E-easy there… I am n-no threat to you." The Rhyhorn continued to stare at me.

" _Okay… do I back up slowly, stay where I am, or approach it? Back up it is then."_ I then began to back away from the Rhyhorn as slowly as I could hoping that this doesn't end with a chase scenario.

"Just gonna back away slowly and leave in peace… okay?"

The Rhyhorn then roared louder than before and charged towards me. Without thinking, my body just moved on its own. I found myself running past the boulder and through the trees. The Ryhorn however destroyed the weezing boulder and smashed through the trees with ease, speed the same as with each tree destroyed getting closer to me, closer to either intense pain… or death.

My vision became blurry with each tree I passed. The sounds of the rhyhorn with each foot hitting the ground was like a loud earthquake. I couldn't look back; I was too focused on forward.

Again, my whole world began to slow down once more. This time, all I did was think. _"It's getting closer! What the heck do I do!? Huh, Can't believe I am running this long without the Rhyhorn hitting me yet… it would probably run much faster if there were no trees leading to my fate much faster… stay near the trees… the thicker parts to try to escape!"_ with that thought in mind, I ran towards more trees grouped together. Jumping through large gaps too small to reduce the chances of the Rhyhorn from catching up, it did for a short time allowing me some breathing space and to plan out where I would run to next.

Suddenly I noticed some large berry bushes all huddled together and decided to run through them and hide as soon as I left the bush. As soon as I left the bushes, I expected that there would be like some kind of light at the end of the tunnel scenario, like I would find other people that could help me, a town even. But what I found instead was a small cliff easily climbable. So I climbed it as fast as I could, sweat ran down my forehead as I pushed myself up the small cliff.

As I reached the top, I saw a very small cave entrance, too small for the Rhyhorn to enter but big enough for me hidden behind a small tree. Crawling inside I found it to be empty and from the looks of it unoccupied by any wild Pokemon and waited for the Rhyhorn to leave. It appeared seconds later climbing up the same small cliff and began searching everywhere for me. it turned its head towards the tree I hid behind in the cave convinced at first that it seen me, but it ran away.

"Good… *sighs* it's gone…" my eyelids became heavy, after all the running I did I was exhausted, the most I had ever been before. A headache started crawling onto my forehead, a throbbing pain that almost made me vomit right then and there… how I wished for some cold refreshing water to ease the pain and my thirst.

And so my vision faded to black, no dream, nothing but silence.

 **The River**

"Is everyone alright?" Sakura asked the Pokemon as they sheltered from the heavy rain underneath an abandoned tent someone had long ago left in the forest.

Sakura with her and both Zack and Isaac's Pokemon gathered around a small lit campfire they recently lit. Most weren't injured due to them being inside their Pokeballs, all except for Minccino. Minccino suffered a few cuts on her right shoulder and back, so with help from the Pokemon, they made a bed made out of leaves they plucked from trees providing small comfort for her.

"Yaaaamask!" Replied Yamask happily smiling and waving over at Sakura gaining a few eye rolls from the other Pokemon sat around the fire trying to get warm. However, not all Pokemon were sat around the fire…

Latias was holding Zack's bag with her claws levitating beside a tree slightly sheltered by the rain that hit her right eye at times, but she didn't seem to care about it. She was staring out into the forest watching if anyone would show up, but no one did.

 **Latias POV**

I just… stayed there, cold, hungry and tired. Zack hadn't shown up yet, neither did Isaac or any enemies. Sakura told us after releasing us from our balls that there was this huge noise that caused the cliff path to collapse causing all three of them to fall off. It took about 4 hours to regroup with the others… but neither one of us couldn't find Zack or the 'weird one'

Some I heard which upset me a little which I refused to believe was that Zack was dead… I don't even know which Pokemon said that.

"You okay Latias?" I looked back to see Dewott standing beside me now soaked from the rain. I shook my head and returned looking back towards the forest.

"He's still out there… he isn't dead… h-he can't be." I felt my eyes tearing up. Clutching Zack's bag close, I wanted everything to be like it was yesterday.

"Don't worry, we'll find him soon. We just have to wait for Minccino to heal up a little, and then we will search for him and the 'Weird one'" Dewott's expression at that moment… he looked sad as he looked at Zack's bag and back at me…

Sitting down beside me, we waited together… until we could go out and find them.

To be continued...

Trivia

Isaac in the original draft was a 10 year old girl who wanted to become a League member, but the idea was scrapped since I didn't want to focus on gym battles most of the time.

 **AN: Okay, next week's chapter may be a little late since my computer is still in repair. This story is almost finished and i am trying my very best to upload the last few and move on. Thanks for reading, everyone... yeah.**


	29. Chapter 29 The Dark Forest Part II

**AN: 29 Is here and 11 more to go until the end. Thanks for reading and for the reviews are very much appreciated. So please enjoy chapter 29.**

Chapter 29 – The Dark Forest Part II

The sound of rain from outside the cave woke me up. The sky was darker than before, _"I wonder how long I was in here for."_ I thought as I stared up at the dark gray clouds.

My headache was gone thankfully; my thirst however was helped by collecting rainwater after removing both of my gloves, but my hunger was still there. I remembered that morning after the argument between Isaac and Sakura we just immediately left the center and didn't grab a bite to eat.

Leaning back on the cave wall listening to the rain I wondered how they were doing out there. Were they alright? Had they been found by others walking through the forest? How long would it take for someone to find me?

 **Nuvema Town Zack's Home – Latias' POV**

I was levitating inside down stairs to find myself near a buffet table with many varieties of food and drinks were placed. Someone was playing some kind of musical instrument… an organ I think it's called. It seemed sad as I listened to the music playing, but the music dulled down as I noticed the other Pokemon eating some food together crying.

"Why are you crying?" I asked, Totodile looked up at me with tearful eyes. He had a plate of cake in front of him that… uh, had tears on it...

"He died. *sniff*" 'died'? Who died I wondered. But I never asked who, I just continued to stare at Totodile expecting him to speak again… he just continued eating the cake that never with each bite seemed to reduce.

"I didn't know him that long, but he was a good guy." Golett said pretending to eat the cake by smearing it all over where the mouth should be. It looked silly to be honest.

"W-weren't we at the forest recently? We fell off the mountain cliff and became separated." I said out loud hoping to earn a response from anyone of them as they ate the cake… but they continued to cry.

From the living room I noticed three things; Lee, Clark and Reiko were reading some kind of magazine from the looks of it, what it was they were reading I couldn't tell. My gaze then turned towards the coffin behind them. Flowers and cards surrounded it with a huge banner hung up above reading 'Rest in Peace'

As I levitated closer towards the coffin, I saw the person inside the coffin was wearing a white suit, hands on top of the chest. As I looked up towards the face I gasped, it was Zack in the coffin. My chest felt heavy as I continued to stare at his lifeless face, almost as if he were sleeping.

Before I could touch him or ask 'Why?' or 'How?' the scene instantly changed. I was on the ground next to other Pokemon and people all looking forward at a stage with a spotlight in the center.

A large animate rock suddenly appeared and everyone applauded and cheered as it hopped towards and grabbed the microphone from the stand that also appeared out of nowhere.

"Thanks everyone, great to be here!" The cheering settled down as the rock waved to the audience with the top of its head… or whatever. "Ahem, first yoke for tonight kids" its voice deep but in a way, comedic… it's hard to explain.

"I may be made out of stone, but my jokes are rock solid!" The audience then laughed and applauded at that waking me up with a gasp.

I awoke to find myself back with the others all huddled together underneath the abandoned tent. Looking up at dark cloud, the rain continued and I felt cold throughout my entire body.

" _Zack…"_ I managed to get up from the others without waking anyone up and became invisible not wanting to attract any attention or followers. I wanted to find him, I needed to.

 **Herbal Shop – Isaac's POV**

"Who is this? I told you to stop calling this number!" *Dial tone*

"Wait! Ah c'mon, dang it!" I shouted into the phone after trying multiple attempts to call the Saviors for help, but all I got was identification number and threats that if I kept calling them they would call the police on me.

I know, call the police instead you might ask… I did, they said the same thing that they would arrest me for coming up with so-called jokes about undead monsters trying to kill us… yeah that doesn't sound unbelievable…

"Any luck?" April asked as she placed her now empty basket down on the shop counter.

"No, they won't believe me… maybe I should prank them somehow… get them over here?"

April sat down on the chair behind the counter gazing out of the shop window. The shop was very nice I had to admit. The color was mostly dark- a brown dark with one light bulb brightening this small place up… I didn't say it to her, but it kinda looked like one of those tool sheds some people have in their gardens.

"So uh, do you work here?" I asked as she turned to face me, "With your parents I mean?"

"My dad takes over on the weekdays. And so does my mom. I take care of the weekends, since I have school to attend. It's a great way to earn some money."

"Which high school do you go to?"

"Black city high. Do you attend there?" She asked me as I turned away from her pretending I was checking out the herbs displayed on the shelf.

Black city high… hearing that name almost started up a cruel memory from my past long ago. That painful reminder that her life was in my hands, and I couldn't let her die, _"I have to calm down!"_ I thought.

My muscles began to tense up as I felt April's hand touching my shoulder.

"Isaac? Is everything alright?" April asked, her eyes filled with I think…worry? Concerned I guess.

"Uh, I- Yeah- I mean, I did go to that school… I left not long a-ago."

"If you're worried about your friends, I'm pretty sure they're alright." April then smiled and returned to the counter. Suddenly, I felt something… a tear began to roll down my cheek.

" _Why am I crying?"_ I asked myself in my mind hoping that I would get some kind of answer, a sign maybe… but I got nothing. Maybe it was the mixed herbs in the room that was causing it at the time. But why did I feel so terrible, like everything that I had was gone from this world? Why did I feel weak?

At that, I walked straight for the door to leave. "Wait!" April called out as I stood there, door wide open. I turned to her and said;

"Stay here and call the police for me, tell them that we need help here. I got to find them." With that I ran out of that store and back where we came, or so I thought…

 **Forest – Zack's POV**

The forest was eerily quiet, it was as if I was the only being alive within the forest from the sense I was getting. _"Maybe because they're not making a noise I because of me? I should leave them alone and find a way out of here."_

A noise from somewhere ahead of me… "Water?" I laughed, "Yes!" I began to run towards the water… river maybe? Yeah that was it.

Remembering back from the mountain path, I noticed a river in the middle of the forest. The river passed Lacunose. "I can follow the stream back to Lacunose. Get help and such…nice." Rushing past the last bush I was facing the river, water flowing down stream calmly, I let out a sigh, relieved.

"Greetings there kiddo." I heard a man call out from the tree behind me. His voice was gravelly as he leaned against it holding what appeared to be a machete. He was wearing a team Annihilation suit, "Great" I thought, but not appearing that we were enemies since I didn't have a weapon or any Pokemon to defend myself. Maybe he'd let me go I wondered.

"Quite the sight this river is, eh?" Looking around me cautiously to see if there was anyone else besides us around… there wasn't.

"Who are you?" I asked, eyes turning in every direction for a sight of ambush from someone hiding within the bushes, but mostly on him.

"I am called a lot of things, kid. They call me- oh let's say; Bastard, thief, murderer, liar and no good scum. Call me whatever you want, for I am a man without a name." the annihilation solider just stood there leaning against the tree so calmly, because of the helmet he wore like the other annihilation soldiers; it was like he wasn't speaking at all.

Suddenly the man stood away from the tree and walked towards the river. He turned towards me clutching the machete tight in his hand and sighed.

"You," he pointed with the tip of the machete and chuckled, "I have been searching for you, Zack Raines."

My eyes grew wide; my hands began to form into fists shaking slightly, not from anger… but fear. Fear that this man knew who I was, my career, even my name, and quite possibly my home.

"Gotta say kiddo; you are one tough nut to crack, or kill… I don't know the saying." He took a few steps closer and stopped… "Since you and your allies shut down the operation we had going on in Lacunose, we lost about… a lot of resources and research, years of it even."

"Wait," I pleaded hoping that I could try and reason with him, "I-I'm just a kid, I was captured by those people, I had nothing to do with shutting down your building."

"Then who was? The scared 'wittle' girly known as Sakura Kanai? Or the crying sissy boy a.k.a. Isaac Anderson? I already know the answer to my question. It was the girl-" the man held his free hand up to his head covering his ear as if he was speaking to someone on a phone or some kind.

"What is it? Never mind that. Listen; I got the boy- alright, go ahead and attack them if ya want. Don't call me again unless it is a… EMERGENCY!" He pulled out the strange device from his helmet and threw it into the river.

"it would appear that my friends have found the girl and co. once I get rid of you, I'll get a promotion… chance of success; 60.7%." The man laughed raising the machete above his head walking calmly towards me.

Before I could start running, the man was hit by a beam of ice freezing his leg to the ground from out of nowhere, "was that Ice beam?"

"LAA!" Latias suddenly appeared beside me shrieking loudly into my ear almost deafening me. She then began to grab my arm pulling me closer to her chest hugging me.

"Well, well. Now isn't this a surprise… 50% of it is I'd say." The annihilation solider managed to free his frozen leg my smashing the ice with the blade almost hitting his leg.

Latias looked up to see the man walking closer to us, but she flew between me and him and readied her Protect.

"R-really, so it's me versus a legendary Pokemon? That's a little unfair, don't ya' think? Well, just because she is legendary doesn't mean she has the power to destroy a city." He then pressed a small button on his belt, but nothing happened. Latias immediately used Protect around us as we were surrounded by many reanimated corpses, humanoid and flyer-kinds.

"With this small button on my belt, I can give commands, any that I please to these sorry looking bastards their parents created… or maybe after the recreation of their new forms, who knows. After we kill the both of you, you will join us as newest members of Team Annihilation!" he shouted as the corpses roared raising their arms mimicking the soldier's movements.

He rose his hand towards his chest and clutched it tight into a fist, the corpses did the same "The world will then belong to Annihilation as a free world. I know that I am using the whole 'villain talking when I could just kill you both' scenario, but I find it cool. Okay you sorry bastards listen up; kill them within the 1 minute time limit I have given ya'll, and I will take you on a field trip to the local circus in the town. We can go to the attractions except the house of mirrors, cause, well, ya know the reason; you'd probably break them all with your looks. Woo!" he laughed as the corpses began running towards us.

 **Forest - Waterfall – Isaac's POV**

Gunfire in the distance for some reason caused me to run in that direction. Was it a hunter perhaps shooting at the corpses that have been sighted here within the forest? Or maybe team annihilation-

I didn't want to think about that, the thought of my friends in danger, hurt even, and that just made me want to run faster, and it did.

 **A few seconds of constant running later**

Golett hurled a large Geodude sized rock at one of the two soldiers shooting at them, but they evaded it by stepping to one side casually. The two soldiers were shooting at Sakura and the rest of the Pokemon all protected by Yamask.

As I stopped running and out into the large circular area everyone was attacking each other in, Minccino with a bandage around her mid tail looked over towards me and waved calling out, "Isaac, over here, quickly!" the other pokemon noticed my arrival, but the two soldiers also noticed me running out into the open without any kind of protection.

" _Damn."_ I thought damning myself for running out in the middle of a gunfight instead of waiting it out. Yeah, good for me right(?)

"Yo! Aim at that guy, over there!" the male solider yelled as both him and the female soldier shot their weapons at me, but luckily none hit me, but I could sense that they almost hit me at some points, maybe even had a close call now and then.

The Pokemon from the large protect bubble from Yamask was using all attacked the two soldiers with their moves ceasing the firing even for a few precious moments of not worrying about getting hit by a bullet critically or fatally. 'Nice ending to sentence if I do say so myself… swish.

Totodile, Golett, Marill, Lugia, Bayleef and Ampharos all charged out of the Protect bubble towards the soldiers all using their moves at them. Totodile with Surf, Golett with fly, Marill with scald causing the male soldier to drop his gun screaming, Lugia with whirlwind pushing them down to the mud, Bayleef using razor leaf destroying their weapons, and finally Ampharos finished them off with her Thunderbolt electrifying them both knocking them out.

"Hurray, the bad guys are defeated!" Minccino cheered jumping up and down next to Dewott who just rolled his eyes at her.

I then noticed Sakura checking up on Salamence and Bayleef using a potion and ether on them. So I just walked up to her so I could talk to her, apologize for that argument we had.

"Sakura?" she looked up at me still kneeling down to tend to the wounded, returned her attention to the Pokemon. "I'm sorry for what I said back on that cliff, and accusing you of stealing the money."

"Why are you apologizing to me? Is it because we almost died today?" Sakura narrowed her eyes as she had finished spraying Bayleef's front leg with the potion.

"I shouldn't have yelled at you like I did. I'm apologizing because… I was being stupid. I was being childish and I-I shouldn't have accused you of stealing my money. Knowing you this long and what we have been through, you're not capable of stealing anything, not even something from a friend. I really am sorry for what I said to you, could we just forget about it… and move on?"

Sakura stood up after brushing herself off and faced me for a minute… maybe more.

"Okay." Sakura said smiling as she hugged me wrapping her arms around my chest causing me to flinch a little in surprise, but I hugged her back, earning a few giggles from the other Pokemon watching us… never found out who, but hey, who cares.

"We could go back and look for your money again; maybe it was handed in to the center or something."

"Nah, forget about it, it's just-" ***BOOM!***

At that sudden noise, all of us were alerted to a loud explosion to the north of us. Zack and Latias must be there… or this forest attracted some strange people that liked exploding things like fireworks in the daytime… sure did sound like it. So anyway, all of us ran towards that direction together.

 **Forest Edge – Zack's POV**

A corpse was sent flying towards a tree causing it to explode upon impact. The corpse's remains however dissolved into dust, like the others that had fallen in battle. Latias had took out a good amount of them, 40ish percent from how many remained, could be more or so. We could've taken out a lot more of them, but there was a problem, I was out of any kind of healing item and ether to help restore Latias' HP and PP of her moves.

Latias wouldn't be able to keep it using protect continually any longer and using another move like mist ball, ice beam or psychic to defeat the corpses. Even if we tried to escape the corpses they would just follow us to where we would go, still surrounding us.

" _Maybe we could try going into the river and… crossing it maybe? No… they would just follow us, and Latias is getting tired. What do I do?"_

"Laa….." Latias groaned weakly as her protect began to fade slightly, but she held on as she looked back at me with a smile not wanting to break Protect, she kept on going. But for how long I wondered.

" _When would the Protect stop? What I do then? Run? Defend her? Or just die here with her? Maybe wait it out until someone shows up and saves us like comic books and TV shows have taught me, that help would just be right around the corner to ease the tension."_

Nothing… No gun fire or Pokemon using a move, or a crowd of savior members rushing out of the trees armed to the teeth defeating the corpses. Not even something the corpses would find interesting than a tired Latias and myself.

I then moved to a nearby tree beside the river to pick up a sturdy stick (not sure about measurement, I think it was about 30 or so inches in length)

" _Maybe I could use it to get a few of them while we make a run for it…"_ with a heavy deep breath I gave Latias the command to stop using Protect, and with her last remaining strength she charged at corpses one by one defeating them but some corpses inflicted damage upon Latias by hitting her with their paw/hands. More would've hurt Latias if I had not had the stick with me. The stick proved useful as with each strike pushed a single corpse back. The stick may not be powerful to defeat a corpse, but it was better than nothing.

"La!" Latias shrieked with pain as one corpse had hit her so hard she fell to the ground. Quickly turning around I raised the stick above my head and bashed the corpse on the head causing it to collapse onto the ground with a moan. Helping Latias up, she levitated towards a few corpses and used Ice beam at them freezing a good amount completely.

With a strong strike to the stick of the frozen corpse shattered them into small pieces of rotting flesh as it turned to dust.

"What the-?" The solider looked up from where he was sitting just realizing that only half remained of his undead army- no, 25 of them were left this time.

Latias and I continued using the same tactic of using ice beam and 'attack' from the stick at every enemy we came across. Since Latias was tired, she remained levitating in the air using ice beam not letting her fatigue defeat her. the corpses fell one by one like dominos… really slow and tiresome in a way.

The annihilation soldier sighed shaking his head, "Note to self; order even more allies, alive ones next time." He looked up at the ice covered ground and walked forward towards us.

"Gotta say kiddo, the way you and your Latias handled them corpses was pretty good." He laughed unsheathing his machete resting the blade on his shoulder. "You must've collected a good amount of EXP there… a couple of hundred maybe?"

Latias levitated to the side of me closely as the solider began walking faster towards us. He then struck, he threw the machete at us then grabbed a handgun from his belt.

Both Latias and I dodged the machete as it flew past us nearly hitting my shoulder and Latias' right wing. Latias knew that using anymore moves could cause her to faint, but she had no other option but to use a powerful psychic attack that pushed the solider back dropping the gun between us.

Latias lowered to the ground as I ran towards the gun to pick it up, and I did aiming at him as he stood up staring at me.

The soldier walked towards me calmly, even with the gun aimed at his head he still continued on, "Stop!" I ordered, hoping that he would listen and that I wouldn't have to shoot him. "I said stop! Now!" he didn't listen.

He was closer, 10 feet away, 6, 3 feet, and now just towering above me.

 ***Click*** I pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. The solider instead of disarming me or attacking me did something that I never expected to happen.

He switched the safety off on the gun, man I must've looked stupid there. But then he grabbed the gun and pulled it upwards in my grip aiming it at his head as he backed up slightly.

"I could've shot you, killed you even." I said shaken slightly at what had happened. Latias levitated beside me again getting into a defensive position as she watched him carefully.

"True, but you didn't, as I didn't attempt to take the gun from your hands and shoot you myself. But looking at your Latias over there I figure she would've insta killed me as soon as I pulled the trigger."

"Obviously the better man won today. You had companions, friends, and one messed up enemy that chose to give up and let you win, since you're still a kid that is." He laughed at that.

"Remember kiddo; second chances like today don't come that often. I could've grabbed the gun and shot you dead and that would've been it for you. One day you will have to make sure that the gun you carry is ready to fire, otherwise your game is over before you had even started."

I expected him like other enemies to either do the laughing whilst they talk about how they can defeat us speech, fight until either one of us were dead or escape. Never expecting them to give up like that and doing that, taking off the safety and surrendering.

"Zack!" Sakura called out as she emerged from the trees alongside Isaac and the Pokemon rushing up to us. Golett and Lugia were both carrying two other annihilation soldiers joining the rest of us.

"You alright?" She said as all of us gathered around us. Ampharos, Minccino, Dewott and Growlithe all stood around the annihilation solider glaring at him in a defensive stance waiting for him to move, but he didn't. Yamask however floated close to the solider carrying a flower pot ready to strike him on the head with it. Where Yamask got that pot from, none of us knew.

"Yeah, w-we're all good. How about you?" I asked them both. Isaac and Sakura smiled.

"Isaac apologized for the argument we had back on the cliff. So we're good also." Sakura, Isaac and I laughed at that. Isaac never found his money again. In the center in Lacunose city we stayed for one night only to lose 2000 in cash. Was it stolen by some passerby? Dropped by Isaac somewhere outside the center or within?

So in Isaac's words on the money; _'if anyone travelling or resides within the city of Lacunose; if anyone see's 2000 in cash around on the floor, or someone who had just found the exact amount, know that, that was the money once owned by Isaac Anderson, what you do with it is up to you. As I do not need it anymore, I have found something better.'_

 **Undella Town – Pokemon Center – 2 hours later**

It has been 2 hours since the police arrived at the forest to arrest the three soldiers. A girl named April who arrived with the police to check if Isaac was alright which of cause he was who in turn started stuttering at speaking with her earning a few giggles from pretty much everyone. Isaac was asked by her if he would like to visit again to which he said he would and talk about herbs and stuff... (sounds like they're talking about the other kind of herb if you know what i mean.)

The soldiers from annihilation were then quickly identified by a few Savior agents on the scene as three of several soldiers that were sighted upon the attack of Castelia city months ago. The police offered us a ride into Undella town, just about a 20 minute drive away so we took it.

Arriving at the center, all of our Pokemon were being treated for any injuries they may have sustained and lost HP. Lee talked about HP on Pokemon once not long ago, he said if a Pokemon reaches 00 HP or 01, I forget which one it is, but he said that whenever a Pokemon reaches 00 this would be called a critical state. If a Pokemon received any more damage, the Pokemon would die. Lee revealed from my Pokedex that Latias had reached 01 when she was fighting the corpses after a corpse heavily hit her causing her to fall.

"Nice work kid, you really showed annihilation you got guts. I guess when you get back to HQ we'll teach you how to use handguns and other weaponry you might use down the line." Lee gave me a thumbs up and drank from his cup.

"That solider could've killed me today. We wouldn't be talking right now if he did."

"Yeah, that's true. I guess there are all kinds of people out there; enemies amongst friends, enemies that would risk their life to save their enemies not just because they want to tell them something or give them a message, but to defeat them not in a way through violence, but intelligence. Others may call him stupid for letting the enemy live and win the battle, and others may see his chances of facing a Pokemon, let alone a trainer's one after seeing said trainer attacked or possibly killed a stupid action. You get all kinds of enemies Zack, Some unfair, others you could call enemies who aren't truly evil." Lee laughed at his speech placing the cup down.

"What did ya put in my coffee? Man I feel lightheaded today. Zackary, just be careful out there is all I am saying. Treat that there Latias of yours well, a Pokemon like that is a rare one to fight for you like that. I'll be sending over a Laticake for you to give her. Take it easy kid." Lee laughed attempting to switch his monitor off but ended up knocking over a few pieces of paper and a keyboard off the desk.

A laticake; this was a recently made delicious cream cake with chocolate (or other flavor on request) icing on top with a highly detailed picture of a souldew in the center with a few pieces of mixed fruit surrounding the edges. A trainer who has either a Latios or Latias gives a Laticake to them, their affection for their trainer increases greatly with them sometimes but mostly offering their trainer a few slices to share between one another. The thought of giving Latias that was nice, thinking of when the last time I had given her any kind of gift which was a long time ago made me feel bad.

Returning to the room we would be spending in that night I found Latias asleep on my bed with Dewott reading from a small magazine. Isaac and Sakura were talking amongst one another. Totodile and Marill were watching a cartoon of some kind in front of the TV.

Sitting down on the bed I gave Latias a light stroke just beneath her ear, "Thank you, Latias. Goodnight." With that Latias smiled still keeping her eyes closed as she tugged on the sheets beneath her close to her body.

To be continued...

Trivia

The laticake section of the story was supposed to play a large part of the story. This however was cut for one; time, and last; it just felt too out of place for a large scene about a cake after what had happened prior to lee talking about the cake.


	30. Chapter 30 Dreams

Chapter 30 - Dreams

An alarm woke me from my dreamless sleep. A constant beeping of an alarm I had heard every morning, same time, same flashing red numbers displayed on the clocks face.

 ***8.30***

I was got up from my bed with a yawn to look around at my room… shelves of books, clothes and other trinkets collected over the years. Collectable trading cards, action figures from video games and such displayed beside my computer.

My katana I had bought not too long ago displayed on the shelf still clean and shiny… _"Katana?"_ I looked around the room again examining every small detail that I could remember about the room. This was my room, Same wooden floor, same layout and everything.

" _H-how d-did I get here? I should be in Undella town, not Nuvema town, not my room!"_ standing up from my bed looking out of the window. Like on the first day before I left Nuvema town with Oshawott and Latias, a pair of Pidoves flew past the house towards the town.

" _This is weird… I shouldn't be here."_ I got dressed into my usual attire; jeans, red shirt, sneakers, bag and gloves almost not realizing that all of the things I had worn didn't have any signs of damage. No small holes or nothing, like it was brand new.

Walking down stairs I found it quiet, it was pitch black down there. Before I could reach the bottom step I heard a loud ***Crack*** that startled me.

"Surprise!" Cheering, the sounds of applauding from everyone inside the house revealing themselves by turning on the lights made me for some reason grin wider and wider until it hurt my cheeks glowing red. But as I heard the cheering continue for a victory Unova has longed for had finally arrived for one reason; the downfall of Team Annihilation

" _Downfall? Team Annihilation is defeated? B-but how, when did it happen?"_ I asked myself ignoring the fact that Reiko was eating a cake with a pencil.

"Hey Zack," Reiko asked mouth full of cake, "My uncle Clark is waiting for you at the lab. He has some good news for you."

"Yeah *hic*" lee wrapped his arm around mine and Reiko's neck smelling of strong alcohol. "Once dat der… good news-amajig thingy… here, we celery-brate…woo?"

My mom walked other to us carrying Lee away also drunk, a state I never saw her in, "Woo, three cheers for my son, the hero of Unova."

"Yay" Everyone in the room dryly cheered ignoring the mood from when I had stepped down the stairs. So I just left towards the lab wanting to know what clark wanted.

Hero of Unova… hero? But how come I don't-

 ***You suddenly remember memories of you charging into Team Annihilation HQ single handily defeating any solider who came across you. Waves and waves of enemies stood no chance as you remember taking down Juro, the leader of Annihilation for good.***

The sudden moment when those memories flooded into my head stopped me in my tracks, the way I just remembered those events confused me, never had I just remember something that only happened a few days ago, all events, everything that I did to defeat annihilation just popped into my mind, like remembering an event from long ago… weird.

And that wasn't the only weird part of it, everyone and I mean anyone who I walked past, from across the street, to out of their vehicles driving along the road stopped and congratulated me, asked for autographs and photos with them like I was a celebrity. This town certainly was quiet when I lived here in my younger days, never have I seen this many people all gathering around someone like this before, not even a famous person received this attention, not because they don't know who they are, it's just people from Nuvema don't really like to do that to celebrities much.

 **Nuvema Toown - Pokeomon Labiratory**

Since no one was there at the front desk I just walked on ahead towards the garden trainers left their pokemon in expecting to see my pokemon here and maybe Clark Stone with Juniper.

"ZAAAAAAAACCCCCKK!" A loud continuous scream coming from multiple voices hurt my ears as soon as I entered the garden, covering my ears I didn't hear them approach me. My Pokemon had together ran and grouped together into a tight hug.

"See? I told yo hat Zack would retoorn… here with a smile?" Totodile uh said looking back at the others refusing to let go.

"It's great to be back here at the Pokemon center. Undella town was it?" Bayleef looked up at Lugia with an unusual frown narrowing her eyes at Lugia.

"It's great to be at the arcades hm?" Lugia said in the most monotone voice I have ever heard from someone, anyone even.

" _Okay… t-they're talking… w-why are they talking- why can I understand them?"_ my confused face was probably the reason they let me go, but it wasn't. Clark was walking towards me in his usual black suit and tie carrying a set of documents.

"Congratulations Zack. You have proved that even the most random of people can achieve something greater."

" _Um… okay?"_

"I award you Zack Raines the Savior Rank 01, the highest rank a savior can achieve. Your pay is increased, missions are available to all regions Savior based for example; Unova, Kanto, Sinnoh, Hoenn and Johto. You can even teach other young members to become someone as great as you."

Clark then gave me document which turned strangely into a small cardboard box. Opening it up I saw a rank 01 Saviors badge; platinum coated with the words 'Savior Rank' at the top and in the center '01' the only thought I had when I carried it in the pal of my hands was _"Thought it would be heavier than this… feels like it isn't there."_

The document inside contained my new id and every bit of information I would need for my new path. But something seemed off about it; the words seemed jumbled up, like it didn't make any sense, for example; 'Born from Nuvema Toon' 'Sex=Mail' and 'Hare color is defeanly blak'

"Sir uh… I don't understand; how come I don't remember much about all this? I mean, I woke up this morning thinking I was back in Undella town, only to wake up here where everyone is saying that I defeated Annihilation."

Clark smiled, but he was looking over me like he was distracted by someone. Perhaps it was his niece Reiko I assumed doing something behind me or maybe my Pokemon… but there wasn't, not anyone or anything just thick trees and the grass.

" _Where did they go? I didn't hear them leave?"_

"Why, don't you remember? After elaving (I assumed he said leaving here. Pronounced as 'L-av-ing') Undella, you entered the forest to discover the base of Team Annihilation."

 ***Warning! Fix the words*** a loud booming voice entered my head at that, no one else besides me seemed to be affected by any of it… strange. Clark cleared his throat,

"Leaving Undella, you entered the forest to discover the base of Team Annihilation. There you entered bravely like no other Savior member has ever done and took down enemy after enemy until you made your way to Juro. Juro was defeated easily and victory was yours."

There was a long silence after that, an unsettling silence, no pokemon calling in the distance, not even the wind.

"The reason you are…" Clark stood still, his face remained motionless. No emotion, never blinking, not a muscle moved an inch, but he still looked right at me.

"…experiencing these memory problems is possibly because the excitement of reaching your goal already."

"Are you alright sir?" I had asked him as he remained silent making that same emotionless face again after smiling. This whole thing was getting freaky now, so I just decided to leave the garden and head back home.

Clark just stared at me leave the entire time. From approaching the door of the lab to walking down the corridor he just turned his head staring at me… weird.

" _What the heck is going on!?"_

 **Sakura's Hometown – Sakura's POV**

"Sweetie. Sweetie I have good news to tell you." A soft kind voice woke me up from my dreamless sleep. But a familiar voice, a voice I felt safe with when I was still a young child.

"Mom, is that you?" I asked mumbling a little on the 'you' part. Opening my eyes I saw her look down upon me. Her long dark brown hair, still the same length as it was tied back by a single yellow bow.

"Sweetie, come inside. I want to tell you some good news." My mom got up and left me lying down. Weird, why was she here in Undella town? The ground beneath me was grass; I wasn't in the bed anymore, but outside, outside of my house. An old two story house my parents were given to by one of their friends as a marriage present before I was born.

"Wha… Isaac, Zack, where are you guys?" Searching for them, I couldn't find them. The house maybe as I stood up, that was when I was able to look around the garden completely. Everything was the same; the same garden with a white wooden fence built around… and the shed near the house, or where it was, it was gone leaving no trace. New grass had been grown over, like the grass had been there for a while now.

Everything was the same inside the house as well as the outside… almost different. The picture frames hung up on the wall displayed different people than before I left here; friends and family I'm guessing were my mom or maybe my dad's.

"Come in sweetie." She appeared from the living room pulling me by the hand gently with a smile. Following her into the living room she turned on the tv with the remote.

The channel on TV was a news story about a middle aged man who had been arrested and was put on trial yesterday. The man as his mug shot was enlarged right in the center of the screen was 'Him'; Jacob Rice.

When my real dad was declared missing when I was about 4, 2 years later my mother wanted to move on by seeing other people mostly from her workplace or meeting up with people in bars with her friends. That was when she met Jacob Rice.

He was at first a quiet man, well groomed, dressed well and appeared like your everyday stranger, a normal guy who had his own life and from his looks wouldn't harm a living soul. I mean, how can you ever know someone as evil as Jacob by their looks? It could happen to anyone. You meet this once person in life you think this will be another one of those normal days… but meeting him wasn't.

Their relationship only lasted for about several months, she called it off. But as for Jacob, he wouldn't accept it and continued to abuse her both psychically and mentally. Being a child I hid in my room under my bed covering my ears to block out the sounds… but it never worked.

One day, I knew he was coming again, she told me to hide so I did. The shed is where my hiding place would be… every time, Jacob would always arrive during the rainy days, he quoted; 'Isn't the rain romantic?' with an almost convincing smile and would kiss her.

Why did I hide in the shed? They never entered or together walked past this small place… but he did, opening the door staring at me with an insane grin holding a small garden shovel. He said it again, that quote I despised.

"Isn't this great? After years of searching, the police have finally caught him." She pulled me in close to hug me, kissing my forehead with a sob. I cried with her, for a long time since that man ran away from the police we were afraid of his return.

In a way, I would like to say the storm ended for us and that they sky showed us a bright clear blue sky full of hope. It's kind of silly how I said it like that, but it's what I believe… we were free.

"So, any room for another?" I pulled away from mom to look at the man who was standing at the doorway of the living room. The man was wearing a black trench coat with a suit underneath. His hair was a mess and he looked like he hadn't shaved before in his life for how long his beard was. I was about to ask him who he was, but my mom quickly walked over standing beside him looking back at me.

"Sakura, honey? This man, his name is Walter. For about 10 years he was declared missing, h-his memory was erased, but he's fine now. It has been so long for us to find him." She walked over to me tears pouring down as she held my hand.

"He's your father. *Sniff* He's your father." I had small memories of this man named Walter, good memories really. Memories of him giving me presents for my birthday and playing with my new toys with me. sure I was confused and needed to know more as to why he left, but instead of demanding questions I just ran up to him and hugged him. To me at that moment, it was like I was hugging a stranger, someone I never meet before, but I felt as if I needed too. I was crying when I heard his voice comforting me, "It's great to be back baby girl, I missed you so much." But I didn't know if I was crying for happiness because of Jacob finally caught or being reunited with dad again… maybe I was crying because I was just confused…

" **This is not the world as you know it."** Not my father, not even my mother or a voice I recognised. It was a voice of no gender. What was strange was that no one besides me heard it.

"What?" I question, but I received nothing in return, not even a glance from my parents as we still continued our embrace.

 **Sakura's Home – Sakura's Room**

It had been a couple of hours since my father returned home to us and hearing that weird voice. Asking them about how I got here and where Isaac and Zack where, all they told me is that Zack defeated Annihilation by himself and was awarded a rank 01 and is now a hero of Unova. Isaac however discovered his herb that allowed humans to understand Pokemon speech. But it didn't explain why I couldn't remember any of it or how I got here.

Sat in front of my computer I tried to look up more information like what happened in Undella recently, but nothing had happened. No information, nothing but just a blank page.

"'This is not the world as you know it' what did it mean by that?" typing that sentence into the search engine I expected to find nothing but I had to try.

'This is not the world as you know it' was typed into the search box… pressed 'enter'… loading…

'Loading….'

'…still loading…'

'…you cannot find me…Sakura!' My heart froze and the muscles in my arms and legs tensed. The search box didn't contain the words 'This is not the world as you know it' anymore, but a 'you cannot find me…Sakura' How did it know my name?

"…A- *gulp* a h-hacker?" I said so quietly that I wasn't sure if it was just my breath.

'I am me… not a hacker. :D' a smiley face? _"Am I losing my mind here?"_ I thought, about to pull my hand away from the computer mouse.

'I am me…you are you. What would you like to know' It asked without the question mark. Who was I talking to? Was it Isaac or Zack playing around with me? Was it some random guy on hacking into people's computers? But why didn't I try to get up and call my parents about this? I just typed.

'Who is this? How do you know my name?' I waited patiently for it to answer slightly anxious at how my room made me feel at that very moment. It was quiet; it felt like there was something in the room with me. Minccino, Marill and Salamence weren't here with me, why didn't I think about them?

'I…am…me… no one else. I am unique. For I am a being that desires satisfaction from others, meaning I would like to watch you be happy. Wake up.' Just as soon as the text box became blank, I found myself looking upward at the ceiling of my room on my bed.

"What's going on here?" A thought entered my head, _"Where are my Pokemon, Zack and Isaac? I have to contact them somehow."_

 **Black City Hospital**

"Isaac, wake up you dumb blonde."

"Huh- w-wha-?" My head was resting on a soft mattress; I was woken up by someone. Turning my head upward I saw who it was who woke me from my dreamless sleep. Boy, I'm glad I woke up when I saw her.

She was a little bit younger than me, only by a month. She had long blone hair, blue eyes like the sky. And a smile and face that belonged to an angel… yeah, I said that. Because I am cool that way.

"Juliet? Y-you're a- you're awake!" sitting up from her bed I touched her forehead, she was alright. "J-Juliet… *sniff*"

Juliet touched my hand with hers and smiled, "The doctor said I was all better now. My heart is fine… y-you- *sniff* you saved me. J-just like you said y-you would." We both leaned into one another wrapping our arms around our shoulders.

" _She's alive… I finally did it. I finally did it."_ A smile formed, it felt like the world lifted off a huge weight on both of my shoulders.

"Check it out, the lover boy is back." Looking over my shoulder to the door I saw 2 teenage boys staring at us, 2 I hadn't seen since I left Black city, 2 good friends.

"Isaac Anderson, you're looking well." Smiled Shane; he was the around same ago as me and have been friends since the start of high school. He wore glasses… uh, let's see what else… oh yeah, he studied after high school ended to study to become a doctor/scientist of some kind in a different region with his family. He was the calm one of the group and collected every single fighting video game there ever was… guess that's it about Shane, onto the next guy.

Jake was the shorter one of the group and was known as the so-called prankster or 'That guy' of the group, the one where the random guy raises there fist and shakes it yelling 'That darn ol' kid.' What the hell am I talking about with this?

Anyway; Jake later went on to become a comic book artist, looking at his work he's very talented. If me, Shane and Juliet never looked at his talent and offered him advice about getting noticed and stuff, Jake would never have become one.

"Look, Isaac's here." Juliet leaned back on her pillow waving at the 2 walking inside the room. The 2 smiled waving back at her.

"We see that." Shane stopped at the foot of the bed arms crossed. Jake walked over to the already open window leaning out breathing in and out before looking over his shoulder towards us.

"What did the doct-"

"So, a little Pidove told me Master was back, and it turns out they were right." Shinx walked into the room and up to my leg with a smile. "Long time no see."

"S-Shinx? Shinx! It's you."

Shinx grinned as I gently picked her up hugging her; Juliet leaned over and petted her head earning a slight purr from her. This moment was everything I had wanted, to be in this room with Juliet better, her heart cured before the worst had happened.

"We found Shinx waiting outside your old home." Jake spoke scratching his nose. "After hearing the news that Juliet was alright again, we got together and decided to head on to the hospital to check up on her. We saw Shinx and brought her here. Didn't expect to see you here today, should've called us ya know."

"Well i- wait! H-how did I get here?" from what I remember from… last night; _"We rested up in Undella town... there was a center we stayed at… w-what else?"_ Just thinking about it gave me a damned headache. Sleeping in Undella only to find myself in Black city with Juliet? But why does Juliet say that I saved her? I didn't even get the money for her operation…

"You alright there, Master?" Shinx nudged me with her tail.

"Where are Zack and Sakura?" I asked looking around the room, none of them changed their expression, nothing but a cold stare that seemed to last half a minute.

"They went home since you have a reason of staying here; being with Juliet." Jake said eating an apple he got from… his pocket maybe? N-no I don't remember seeing one.

"Well," Jake said with a smile, now the apple had vanished from his hand entirely. "This calls for a Celebration/Party/Welcome back event, now that the gangs all back together."

"Yeah," Shane walked over to Jake and placed a hand on his shoulder. "And we will use Jake's house for this party then."

"What!? Why my house? Agghhh!"

Everyone laughed in the room at that, _"This is a good day…"_ looking back up at Juliet, she wasn't lying down in the bed anymore. Her laughter a moment ago became silent like the rest of the room. No one was in the room now as I stood up surprised.

"W-what? J-Juliet, w-where are you? Juliet!" I shouted before making my way over to the door. _"What the heck is going on here?"_

"Excuse me young man!" A woman wearing the usual doctor's attire entered the room. (I don't know the actual name of the thing doctors usually wear. I know that I should, but I don't pay attention that much.)

"Why are you shouting in here? This room has been cleared out and new patients are being moved in here, so I suggest you leave now before I call security." She said walking past me fixing up the bed Juliet slept in a few seconds ago.

"Yo Isaac? Are you coming or not?" Jake appeared from around the corner of the door.

"Jake, where is Juliet?" I asked him, but from what I gathered from his expression, it was like I said something weird to him or something.

"Uh, s-she's downstairs by the entrance waiting you with Shinx and Shane. You said you had to check something out in this room. You took a long time so I had to run here to check up on ya."

"But- Juliet was sleeping in this bed just a moment ago. We were all laughing and then all of you were gone."

"You feeling alright Isaac? Juliet woke up two weeks ago, you stayed here with her and now she had been admitted from the hospital. We're all waiting for you downstairs."

Jake left towards the elevators leaving me standing there in the room. _"Two weeks? But she only woke up today… I haven't been here that long."_ I looked back at Juliet's bed; I almost jumped back out the room at the sight. There was an elderly man in Juliet's bed on some kind of life support machine. The doctor from before was gone, only the elderly man was in the room with me.

"Yo Isaac! C'mon, elevator is here!" Jake shouted waving over to me to hurry up.

 **Nuvema Town – Zack's Home**

It had been another 2 hours since I returned home from the lab after finding out that was a Saviors rank 01. Claire and Billy arrived not too long ago sitting in the kitchen area talking about staplers looking back every now and then at either me or Lee sitting in the chair in the living room.

I found myself walking out into the back garden, I needed some time to myself, clear my head even. I sat underneath a large apple tree that was planted here before any of us moved in here long ago. It grew some delicious sweet apples, but Latias saw to it that the entire tree would be emptied out before we had a chance to grab one or two, so we just nicknamed the tree the 'Lati-tree' since for the past 5 years she has been the only one to eat from it.

"Zack, here I got you an apple." Latias appeared above me holding an apple dropping it into my lap. It was strange hearing Latias speaking English, but at the same time it was nice knowing that the language barrier we had was gone. Latias levitated down beside me and ate 2 apples at the same time, biting into one and the other after swallowing with a loud gulp.

"What do you plan on doing now that you are a 01?" Latias asked between mouthfuls of apple.

"A rank 01 can choose where their next mission can be. It can be within Unova, Sinnoh, Kanto, Hoenn or Johto. Maybe I'll go to Sinnoh next year."

Sinnoh, why sinnoh out of every other place? A fresh start maybe? My goal was to join the Saviors, reach rank 01 and find someone I could spend my life with, start a family even. I wasn't expecting to reach that goal that quick, 2 years if I was lucky, perhaps 5 was the best time for me. The reason I said a fresh start in sinnoh was to get out there and make some new friends, just enjoy life before I rush everything.

"Could I go with you to Sinnoh? Latias asked holding the last remaining apple in her paws. I stroked her behind the ears and told her that she could. From inside the house someone had started playing some music, it sounded like the same music from that club back in Lacunose only that it seemed higher pitch in a way.

"I am truly sorry for leaving you and your mother with that cruel man; I'll never leave you again…." Latias whispered staring at the grass between us. Latias stared blankly at the grass not moving a muscle. "Yo, Isaac dude; you coming or what?"

"Latias, are you alright?" reaching out my hand to touch her paw, she turned her head at me with the same blank emotionless expression Clark made back at the center. Being this close to her I couldn't hear her breathe, I think she wasn't breathing at all.

"Latias, is som-" "Hahahahhahaha!" I jumped back startled by Latias' sudden laughter. "HAH-HAH-HOO-HEE-HUU-AHAH! Laughter!" She shouted staring at me still with a blank expression. This continued for a minute or so before I decided to get up away from the tree, away from her.

" _Is this some kind of joke? It's too freaky on my side."_ The music from inside the house stopped all of a sudden, in fact there was nothing, no pokemon in the distance, the wind, only silence.

" **FAILURE!"** A voice boomed loudly startling me so much I fell back on the ground that turned black, then the house, then everything.

 **Sakura's Home – Sakura's POV**

The morning came already; it felt like I never fell asleep at all, like I only shut my eyes for a second before the entire room brightened up from almost complete darkness.

" _The library at the other side of town… there is a phone booth I could use. I can call Zack and Isaac-"_ Then it hit me, how could I call them without knowing what their numbers are? _"The Saviors maybe? I could just call the front desk and ask about Zack."_

With a plan in mind I quickly got dressed into my travelling clothes; black t-shirt, blue shorts, and white sneakers, my usual travelling clothes my mom picked out for me. Before heading out with my bag stap in hand I noticed the computer screen had the exact same webpage from last night with the search box filled in.

'They are not your parents.' A few seconds after I had read those words displayed on screen, I heard my mom and dad call from downstairs.

"Sweetie, breakfast is ready."

"C'mon down before your mother eats it all like always. *Laughs*"

'Who are you?' I typed into the search box. I stood and waited eagerly beside the screen for a reply. I waited 5 minutes now and nothing happened.

"C'mon sw-" my mother called up, but her voice was cut off straight away by something. Turning to the computer screen again, my heart froze as I saw the words displayed on screen.

'They will kill you if you leave. They are nothing but fakes.' The screen stayed like that for another minute or 2. But when I heard footsteps walk up the stairs, the screen shut off leaving a black screen.

The footsteps from outside became louder; I stepped back towards my bed holding the bag straps like it were some kind of weapon. Whoever was at my door stopped right outside briefly before opening it slowly.

*Creak*

There at the doorway stood my mother with a blank expression staring right at me, arms at her side and said, "Dinner is not ready. Please go to bed? Not today, today is a bad one."

"M-mom? W-what's-"

"I said everything I peachy. Nothing a handle can't turn! I need a good solid plate for my lavender scented roses, can't beat a better deal now can we." She walked in further into my room stopping in front of the window next to my bed still staring at me. "Are you just fine my dear? Better now once we have eaten, all full."

Slowly I inched my way closer towards my door cautiously. She continued keeping her head turned directly at me; beyond an angle a humans head can't turn she continued moving her head facing me. At the door I expected her to run at me or talk again, but she didn't. Shutting the door I walked faster down stairs not caring that I made any loud noise towards the front door shutting it behind me as I left that weird place.

" _Die if I leave? I would've died if I stayed in that crazy house with those 'Things' that looked like my mom and-"_ Stopping by the front gate I paused for a moment, I realized something about the man who claimed to be my dad.

I never met him, my true father I mean. I don't remember his face or his voice much. We couldn't find photos of him either, I'm not too sure of the details, but mom lost them when she was with Jacob. (Or he destroyed them for some reason.)

Was that man back there my father's true appearance created from my memories hidden deep within the back of my head? Or just a person I created thinking this would be a person I could call my dad?

Then without warning, the entire world became dark. I was alone, or so I thought…

 **Black City – Isaac's Home – Isaac's POV**

For some reason instead of going to Jake's house for this reunion party we went back to mine… my house. This was the place it all started in, my early childhood, when my grandmother revealed the herb that allowed a human to communicate with any Pokemon started. It was also the place where she…

"Okay, we'll set up the party banners here and other by that weird fire-storage place thing… uh, a fireplace- yeah it's definitely called a fireplace." Jake started handing out party supplies to Shinx and Shane hanging various supplies up on the wall; the balloons, the large 'Welcome back' sign that hung unevenly above the fireplace, heck I didn't care what it all looked like, I was happy that we could be together like this again.

Juliet waited patiently outside for us to get everything ready. It wasn't a long wait, only 10 minutes. It wouldn't be long until this waiting was over.

"It's kinda fun being all back, hmm?" Shinx said passing me a deflated balloon placed on her back as I sat down on a chair next to the open. "It sure is, leaving this place I regretted it day by day, but in the end Juliet woke up…" I hung my head down low, my eyes staring at each detail of the old carpet that has been here since my grandmother took me in.

"Did you find the herb or not?" Shinx asked moving closer towards my leg. "How much money did you get during you leaving? Why leave at all when your girlfriend was dying?"

"W-what does that mean?" The way Shinx said that sounded like she was accusing me, something Shinx never did, maybe a change in her personality after leaving home to be with her family had something to do with it? But instead of thinking this I snapped back.

"I spent almost a year trying to earn enough money for Juliet's operation! I came close a few times, but I almost got the money! And in a few but few weeks I would've had the money!" both Jake and Shane stared at me. Shinx walked away laughing.

"You just ran away because you were a coward. Poor Isaac Anderson, ran away from home cause he was a little bitch who didn't want to see his precious Julie die."

"That's something we can agree on." That voice, it was my grandmothers, towards the front door beneath the stairs stood my grandmother wearing her pyjamas. "I revealed the secret's of the herbs to you hoping that one day maybe soon you would share it with the rest of the world. How far have you come since then? How many herbs have you seen that resembled the one that allowed a human to communicate with a Pokemon? 1? 5? 20? An entire fields worth of them?"

She crossed her arms closing her eyes in disappointment, "Or 0? Since that is how much your progress has been on both the herbs and earning enough money for Juliet. I should've given the herbs to someone who could do what you couldn't." she turned away from me and began to open the front door refusing to turn as she said one more thing to me,

"You don't deserve any happiness. You don't deserve the ability, you don't deserve Juliet."

Shane and Jake both dropped the party supplies they had and walked to the door, both saying something before leaving. "Leaving Juliet to die? And people said I was the freak."

"We won't come here anymore. Don't bother looking for any of us."

Both Shinx and Juliet left together without saying a word or looking back. Their harsh words left me stunned angry and confused. I couldn't speak or move a muscle, I just sat there listening to their words my mind continued replaying on loop.

" _B-but I tried… I tried to help her; I didn't want to disappoint my grandmother… I can still save Juliet"_ That was when I noticed it, I don't know why but I just noticed it then, my grandmother was dead, like Shinx from before, she would never say anything like that. From the strange memory lose, the strange time skip back at the hospital and the sudden appearance of my grandmother, this wasn't real, none of it was.

"This isn't real? What's going on here!?" I yelled demanding from whatever that was doing this to reveal itself… and it did.

 **Route 14**

Walking in the darkness waving my arms in front of me should I bump into anything, a long time of wandering in the darkness I began to panic.

"Hey, I-is anyone there? Anyone!?" I called out into the darkness but nothing answered my call, so I pushed on further into the darkness hoping either to touch something with my arms or catch a glimmer of light with each step I took I would get closer to it.

Suddenly the darkness vanished; I was outside my house again. But the darkness quickly returned. The soft ground of the grass changed to a now solid one, leaving me confused wanting to know why this was happening to me.

The house, the feeling of the soft grass beneath me and the brightness returned again, but Latias appeared in front of me searching in every direction readying for a mist ball from her position. The darkness began to engulf the world again, before I could out to Latias, the darkness surrounding me shattered like a stone thrown against a glass window as the night sky appeared above us.

"Zack!" Sakura ran up to me with Minccino and Dewott running beside her. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm good. What happened with this whole darkness thing?" as I asked that, Latias flew into me clutching my shirt with her paws burying her head tearing up.

"Laa…! *sniff*" Wrapping my arms around her I gently stroked her long neck calming her down, her tears escalated from small drops to that of a waterfall…

"Look, over there." Isaac approached us pointing at the trees, I assumed he was pointing at them but he wasn't… what he was pointing at was odd; it's appearance was that of an elderly skinny man who looked as if he had not eaten in months. His skin was very pale with veins showing on his entire body. We would've assumed he was some kind of psychic for how he was sitting above ground in a meditation like state, until we noticed that he had a large serpentine-like tail holding him up.

"You are awake!" His voice echoed throughout the forest as he stared at us with the same emotionless blank expression all of us experienced, including our Pokemon. "You should not have woken up. My offer is too good to be refused."

"You're a reanimated corpse ain't ya!" Isaac narrowed his eyes at the thing staring at us. "Did Annihilation set this up or something? To capture us?"

The creature chuckled loudly to itself, "Long ago Annihilation created me; Number 0948 a.k.a. Dream Eater. Like my brothers and sisters we all have 'abilities' that make us unique, different from one another if you will."

"Annihilation then gathered over 200 of us into separate containers, some cramped, some cosy. We attached to helicopters were dropped from the sky and smashed right down on a city and began to attack the enemy. I found myself right outside the city and chose to go elsewhere finding new victim after victim, feeding on their life force by letting them dream a dream they long for… until death."

"Why?" I asked glaring at it, "Why did Annihilation do this?"

"My father, our father wants to recreate the world into that of a free one, a better tomorrow for all life across the many regions of this pathetic world… a living nightmare of suffering and chaos." Dream Eater grinned and pointed at each one of us,

"I know all of your secrets. From the smallest little lie you have told others to hide the truth to the darkest lie you believe is your reality. I know all of your dreams, the very thing you thrive for in life, the kind of dream you feel is impossible to obtain just like that." Dream Eater snapped his fingers above his head and kept them there. He then pointed at me,

"I know what you are, boy. I know the past you have endured. The taunts, the words, every single word and action have led you to the one standing in front of me now… you are a failure. And failures mean one thing; worthless and needs to die!"

Dream Eater's hands grew large as it stabbed its gigantic hand into the ground and threw a large Golem sized rock at us. All of us were protected mostly by Latias using Protect and Dewott attacking the rock the same time it hit protect.

"It is futile! Sooner or later this dream you people call a normal life will turn into a nightmare. You will die and the dream you crave will forever be just a dream. Sleep and dream of you achieving your goals! I don't oppose you just because you side with the Saviors, I oppose you because you are food source!"

"Yamask, let's get this guy!" Isaac threw Yamask's Pokeball high above releasing him as he fired a Shadowball directly at Dream Eaters chest.

"That hurt, just like the moment in your life when Juliet was sent to hospital, Isaac. HAHAHAHA!" Dream Eaters laughed as his tail unravelled from the tree slithering closer towards us.

"Salamence, you're up!" Sakura threw the ball in front of her and out came Salamence standing on the offensive awaiting Sakura's command. Latias and Dewott stood beside us deflecting and protecting us against any small rocks Dream Eater threw at us.

"It is useless. Fall asleep and know a world without a nightmare!" Dream Eater spat a green slime-like substance at the ground between Salamence and Yamask. From the green liquid, fumes appeared causing the two Pokemon to gag.

"Yaaaa!" Yamask said weakly, his face and Salamence's turned slightly green.

"Poisoned… cheap trick!" Isaac clenched his fist narrowing his eyebrows at Dream Eater.

"Soon your Pokemon upon being defeated by the move I call 'Poisoned Fumes' will always be inflicted on an enemy draining their HP to 0. Items such as Antidote cannot remove this ailment. The only way to remove this ailment is for the one to have inflicted this ailment on others must die. Meaning I must perish." Dream Eater smiled and continued throwing huge boulders at us ignoring the two poisoned Pokemon.

"Salamence; use Thunder fang!" Salamence's mouth glow a sparkling yellow and opened his mouth wide jumping right at Dream Eater's dangling leg biting down hard as he could. Dream Eater winced at the attack and raised his tail about to slam it against Salamence.

"Yamask; protect Salamence!" Isaac ordered as Yamask appeared in front of Salamence just in time before the impact.

"Ominous Wind!" Yamask placed both of its paws in front of him in a praying pose and closed his eyes. Yamask opened them up and began to spin until a dark-like energy appeared directly in front of him and blasted Dream Eater directly into his face.

"GAH!" Dream Eater covered his face screaming loudly in pain. His tail waved back and forth in multiple directions almost hitting both Pokemon and at us.

That was when we noticed his face was destroyed exposing a glowing red 'Heart?' in shape almost since it was pulsating like one.

"The head! Aim for the head!" Latias removed the Protect, together we attacked the arms that were protecting its head keeping his tail at bay.

"N-no! I want to see more dreams! Stop this! Argh!" He begged, head shaking wildly trying to avoid being hit by an upcoming attack. "This is a nightmare world! A NIGHTMARE!"

Latias and Yamask combine their Psychic to hold Dream Eater in place as Salamence alone jumped up high towards his face using Thunder fang. The attack made contact with him as he shrieked louder unlike anything I had ever heard before. With one final shake he managed to throw off Salamence and onto the ground safely. Dream Eater's cries died down, and so did his life.

His entire body crumbled slowly away into dust leaving behind small traces of Dream Eater, but not only the world as it returned to normal, but we saw countless skeletons piled together on the ground of various Pokemon and people, the past victims of Dream Eater.

"You guys alright?" Isaac asked walking up to us trying carefully to not step on any of the bones left on the ground.

"I'm alright. Are you alright Salamence?" Sakura said kneeling down beside her Pokemon. Salamence smiled and nuzzled against her nose smiling. The poison on both Salamence and Yamask was gone, the HP they lost from the 'Poison Mist' was quickly healed up with a few super potions, they didn't suffer any serious effects like a hidden life threatening disease or anything.

Dream Eater sure was a strange corpse unlike the others we have met. Since the attack in Castelia city, I wondered at that moment if there were any others like him hidden within Unova's routes, the towns and cities.

To be continued...

 **Trivia:**

Annihilation 03/03 - Annihilation Solider – Class Warrior

Notes:

These soldiers carry a sword both light and strong with the initials 'TA' engraved on the hilt of the sword. They however do not carry other weapons but their armor helps reduce damage from bullets and elemental damage by 50%. On some occurrences, Savior agents have seen these warriors deflect bullets but only at long range. 'Must be some kind of drug these troopers were injected with to make them do things like that' Quote from Lee on Annihilation Warriors. They can also drop from large distances were as a regular living being would be injured or suffer a broken bone while they just walk it off. Success of capturing a Warrior alive to interrogate them about the drug or whatever was being used at the time remains unsuccessful as to all warriors defeated or knocked out in and out of battle fade leaving no trace of them behind, that is except the weapon they leave and their armor.

 **AN: My apologies if this chapter seemed rushed in a way, I was kind of juggling with different scenes I had planned for this chapter and wanted to put as much as I could without it making seem that it didn't make any sense. Thanks for reading chapter 30, and so the next chapter; number 31 will be up next week. Until next time.**


	31. Chapter 31 3 on 1

Chapter 31 – 3 on 2 

**Black City Before noon**

Black city, not entirely like black many people have said about the place. The city's large skyscrapers and buildings edges were all black, it did have a black tint to the city's name when we walked further in. 

Checking in at the city's center we went to our rooms to drop off some thing before we looked around the city together, I thought it was going to be just a day like Lacunose, but with a different city and all. Me and Sakura remembered what Isaac once said; Black city was his home, where Juliet is at the hospital.

"Hey Isaac?" Sakura walked over to Isaac who was sitting down on his bed writing something in a small journal he bought a while ago. "Didn't you say Black city was where you come from?"

"Y-yeah, I guess I did huh." He smiled weakly at Sakura before returning to write in his journal again.

"Are you going to visit Juliet today? I'm sure she'll be happy to see you after so long, right?" I said standing next to Sakura. Isaac closed the book and cleared his throat.

"A year and 1 month now. I said I promised to return with the money… if I- *sighs* I should go to her." Isaac smiled standing up, "S-so, what are we waiting for? Yeah… l-let's get… to her… right." Isaac shook his head before making his way over to the door in embarrassment.

We assumed he was frightened of seeing his girlfriend again after being away for a year now on how he left the room like he did. 'But why?' We thought. From what Isaac told us about the stories on how he and Juliet met, it didn't sound like she was a cruel person or their friends and family weren't the nicest people ever. Perhaps he wanted to return to the city once he had gotten the money instead of returning empty handed.

"I'll just go to her, update on what I have been doing on my journey and let her rest some more. You two spend some time together and we'll meet up this afternoon, Alright?"

"Sure, no problem," Said Sakura looking at me, "C'mon, last one outside has to pay for the movies." She said bolting right out of the room laughing leaving me in chase after her. Isaac stood at the doorway just watching us shaking his head chuckling to himself at our behaviour.

 ****

 **Black city – Hospital – Isaac's POV**

Walking into the room I had been in many times during the first 2 weeks only to return again after a year was tough. My heart it felt- it was like my heart was being crushed in a vice. Was it nervousness? Was I anxious at what I would see? Would Juliet… would she still look like how she did before I left? Those questions plagued my mind, each question almost made me turn away from her room. To come up with a false lie as soon as I left that hospital saying she was fine and wasn't mad or something like that.

But I had to see her again, even if I couldn't save today her with the money I had promised. I had to know if she was alright.

Entering her room was just like I had never left the city over a year ago. The same flowers and various gifts with a 'Get well soon' message on the cards and some donuts someone left… half eaten… wonder who ate that?

But to my surprise, what never changed was Juliet still in her bed, but sleeping this time. the doctors told me before leaving to find money last year said they would have to uh… do something to her, make her sleep or something to reduce the infection in her heart, I think that's what it was.

Her parents at the time tried to pay off the surgery needed to save her life, but they were already in debt and couldn't spend a Pokedollar for her surgery without the bank seizing their home or possessions. So that's where I came in and told them that I would go out into the region of Unova and earn enough money for Juliet.

I remember leaving the hospital that morning and looking up towards her window, I saw her wave at me. I waved back not knowing it would take me this long to return, even without the money.

Sitting down on the chair beside her as she slept, I held her hand, still warm.

"Hey Juliet? It's me Isaac. Remember me right? The blonde guy in the library reading the herbal book?" she remained still as I talked. I wonder if people who are put to sleep hear any of this. It would be nice to know that your word got to them, so I continued.

"Well… it may take some time, but I'm getting closer towards my goal to save you. We can- we can be together again, like old times. I have made some new friends whilst I was getting the money, ya know. This kid named Zack Raines, 14 I think. Uh… black spiky hair, wears black gloves like trainers do… but their gloves are finger less, his aren't… we used to joke about them, didn't we... Oh yeah, he has a Latias, the Pokemon we once saw in one of those photo books back at school. And finally there's this girl about the same age as Zack, black hair up to the neck. She's a quiet but after a few more talking later she's pretty cool."

I hadn't been in that place long, a few minutes maybe. But to me, it was as if I had spent hours in here, I needed to hurry. So with that I leaned in and kissed Juliet on the forehead, "I'll return again, until then… don't go anywhere, take care."

 ****

 **Black city – Movie Theater**

The movie which I paid to watch was one I didn't want to see, it was begged in a way by Latias after finding out that new movie of that superhero Latias movie she's obsessed with was just released today (lucky me, right?). I think the movie was called 'Super Latias 8 – War of the 7 Regions.' From what I understood about the plot from that movie was that an emperor of either Hoenn or Sinnoh waged war with the other regions, trying to conquer them to regain control over what had happened to his family's empire being taken away thousands of years ago… I think, I'm just guessing at this point. Anyway, Super Latias' allies and enemies team up to face the emperor and his army.

The only one of us who seemed to enjoy this movie was of cause Latias, grinning as Super Latias saying some cheesy one liner or some kind of heroic speech. The rest of us just watched it normally or tried to without Latias giggling and gasping loudly at the tension scenes every now and then.

Thankfully the movie ended and everyone left… all except for a few other fans and us since Latias wanted to see if there was an after credits scene to hint at the next sequel… there was, so we had to wait another 2 minutes.

So, we left the place to walk back to the center where Isaac said we'd meet up again.

"So Zack, what would you have watched if it were just me and you?" Sakura asked me as we now entered the lobby. "It kind of felt like you didn't want to watch that movie."

"Not really. I'm not really a fan of that Latias movie. Latias always watches the TV shows, movies and plays the video games at home, so seeing it all the time can get annoying after a week nonstop."

She gave out a soft giggle and smiled "She must've driven you nuts watching and playing the same thing over and over again." The both of us just laughed at that. It was nice to do this, just relaxing and having fun with friends.

As we left the lobby and out of the theatres, I didn't realize it at the time but I never told Sakura what I would've watched that day if it were just the two of us. A cheesy or lame answer as it may be, but I would've just watched any old movie.

Outside the theater now we noticed across the street sitting down on a bench alone in front of the fountain was Isaac waving over to us.

"So, did you two have fun at the movies!?" Isaac shouted as we began walking over to him earning a few heads to turn to look at Isaac.

"Sure, it was fun!" Sakura cheered standing in front of the fountain playfully splashing a small few drops of water onto Minccino. "We watched that Latias movie-"

"Laaaah!" Latias shrieked loudly as she started performing aerial back flips and spins above the fountain, again earning more attention.

"Latias says it was her favorite movie so far of the series." Isaac said as he glanced back up at Latias as she shouted out and re-enacted her favorite scenes. "Now she's saying she wants to go back and watch it again."

"No-" I said sighing deeply not wanting to go back in there. "I'll just…buy her the DVD when it comes out." At that, Latias levitated towards me shaking me playfully shrieking louder.

"So Isaac how is Juliet? How is she holding up?" Sakura asked as she sat next to Isaac.

"She's alright, but… she is sleeping for the moment. She looks good, hasn't changed since last I saw her about a year ago." Isaac said with a smile, but his smile changed into shock, and so did mine as we heard a voice I recognised back in Nuvema town.

"Well, well! Look at what we have here, sis. It's that kid from Nuvema town." Henry and his sister Heather were standing behind us arms crossed both with a smug look.

"Oh yeah. What was it? Jack? Jake? Nate, was it? Oh yeah, it was Zack Raines. Both of us heard from a 'wittle' Pidgey that you were a member of the Saviors, correct." Heather waved her index finger at me at that last part, but before I could reply to her, Henry interrupted me.

"And what's this? He's got himself some friend's t- Hey LOOK!" he shouted pointing at Isaac, "It's Isaac Anderson!"

"Oh yeah, didn't he used to date that July gal? You know the retard?" Isaac didn't take too kindly to that insult as he stood clenching his fists, but he stopped not wanting to fight them.

"Didn't she die, not too long ago?" Henry asked his sister staring at Isaac still with a smug look.

"Yep, she was like-" before heather could grab at her chest to imitate a heart attack, Isaac stepped forward.

"Before you finish that sentence know this, if I hear you," he pointed at them both with a glare. "You EVER talk about Juliet, say her name or do anything to tick me off; I will end you, both of you!" There was a silence, not one of us said a thing. Latias stopped levitating above the fountain to hide behind me.

The two standing beside one another at first seemed terrified at Isaac, but then they started laughing, holding onto one another to stop from falling to the ground.

"Oh man! You never cease to humor me, Isaac." Henry laughed as Isaac shut his eyes tight as he breathed in and out slowly to calm himself. "Tell ya 'hwat', how about me and Heather here challenge you and your friends here in a one Pokemon per trainer only duel? If your team wins, we leave you alone, and we apologize for our attitude just now. If we win, all three of you must hand over… how's 4000 each sound?"

"Hey! You tried that with me back in Nuvema town."

"True," Heather said with her hands on her hips, "But it's a good price for making us look weak by cheating on us with that overpowered bitch-wott."

"Dew Dewott!" Dewott stepped forward but was stopped by Isaac. "Fine then, let's duel then."

 ****

 **Duel Arena – 20 minutes south away from the center and the movie theater**

The duel arena, a place where trainers can freely challenge other trainers to a 1-on-1, 2-on-2 or challenge yourself with a special new feature; 'VR Battles' were you wear a headset along with your selected Pokemon to battle computer simulations of a randomly generated trainer to an all star cast of famous trainers from different regions. to use that feature, (which was popular) you had to have a membership card with the arena which was about 1000-2000 depending on what else you would like with it.

Having a simple membership (cheaper method) allowed you to use the VR machine and train your Pokemon there for a month or two, whereas the other but more expensive membership gave you and your Pokemon a gym, VR exclusive content for 6 months. But seeing as how we would only be in here for less than an hour, we took a duelling arena for ourselves out of the several other rooms available. It wasn't really a large place; it was enough to hold about 12 arenas, a gym and a virtual reality machine.

There stood beside to the right were Sakura in the center, and Isaac at the far right. Sakura had chosen Marill, Isaac chose Ampharos, and myself had chosen Golett. Heather and Henry stood by one another each throwing their Pokeballs to the field. Henry started off with Snivy, now had evolved into a Serperior, and heather started with Tepig, evolved into an Emboar.

"We had these duo trained to be the best at what they do, that's fightin' if ya too slow to figure that one out." Henry laughed, "And they're not the kind of Pokemon to let up, just give up, throw away the towel. No, we trained them ourselves so that we could prove that we are the best to take on Unova as the potential champion of the region."

"So you two are collecting badges to face the regions champion then?" I asked, both of them glaring at me in response.

"We're done collecting badges for this region. We only need to go to Victory road, and then battle the elite four, then the champion." Heather said with her Emboar readying to charge at us. "Defeating you three at once will prove we are champion material."

There was no referee to start the battle, so one of us would start by giving our Pokemon a command.

"Hammer arm, at Golett!"

"Leaf tornado, go for Marill!"

The two Pokemon charged their attacks at their opponents standing by to await their command. "Marill, stop it with Bubble beam, dodge if it gets too close!" Marill used bubble beam directly at the Leaf tornado spiralling closer towards her. The bubble beam did slow it down slightly, only to absorb the attack into some kind of bubble/leaf tornado combo move. Marill after her attack had failed attempted to dodge the attack at the last moment, but the attack hit her pushing Marill onto her back, but quickly got up.

Emboar charging at Golett were just a few feet away inching closer, each step it took, a few more and my command for Golett would be gone and Emboar would attack. "Iron Defense!" Golett moves its arms cross out in front of its body as it engulfed in a silver-like glow raising its defense.

Emboar's attack hit Golett, but it didn't seem fazed by the attack and stood by waiting for the next move.

"Shadow Punch, now!" I gave the command quickly before Henry could recall his Pokemon back or attack again.

Golett pulled back its fist as its entire arm engulfed in a shadowy black substance and pushed forward into the Emboar's stomach pushing it back with a few steps with a loud grunt.

"Giga impact on Serperior!" Ampharos charged superfast at Serperior as it turned its head stunned at her fast approach. The impact of the move pushed it back slightly but silently.

"Vine whip Ampharos, do it while it cannot move!" two large vines emerged from Serperior as it began to strike Ampharos in her vulnerable state.

"Marill, tackle Serperior!" Marill ran as fast as her small feet could take her towards Serperior as it noticed the Pokemon getting closer, but continued to direct its attack at Ampharos.

Henry smirked, "Slap em' away, continue with the attack." Serperior with its other vine whipped Marill pushing her back and proceeded with the attack slapping Ampharos across the face multiple times. "And to use Giga impact on Serperior knowing that your Pokemon cannot do a single thing after using it. Keep at it Serperior. Vine whip Ampharos a few more times."

"Emboar, use Hammer a-" before Heather could finish, Emboar was suddenly struck in the face with one of Serperior's Vine whips causing Emboar to yell insults at it.

"Hey! Why is your stupid snake Pokemon attacking my Emboar!?" Heather faced and turned to her brother yelling at him, and so did Henry to his sister.

"It's called an accidental attack stupid, and anyway, Emboar is too large so that's why it was hurt."

"Emboar is not large!"

"Marill Water gun on Emboar!" Sakura gave Marill a command whilst the two were still arguing amongst themselves not paying any attention to the battle. "Golett, Mega punch!" both of our attacks successfully hit Emboar as it roared out in pain, causing both trainers to turn their attention to the battlefield.

"You damned cheats! Serperior, use Slam on anyone of them! Use your own initiative, Damn it!" Henry growled as he glared at his Pokemon as it jumped up in the air and slammed its tail down hard on Golett.

"Emboar, use Assurance!" Emboar charged up slightly before attacking Golett with Assurance as it still remained faced down on the ground. "Yes! Double damage for same turn! Woo!" Heather cheered.

"Confuse ray, Ampharos!" Ampharos ran up to Serperior, opened her mouth wide open and a dark-like mist quickly shot out and hit Serperior causing its eyes to rotate slightly, blinking its eyes open and shut rapidly.

"Water gun, Marill!"

"Emboar, Hammer arm on the Marill!" Both trainers gave their Pokemon commands and both Pokemon attacked causing their attacks to explode covering the field with dust. Both Pokemon took a great amount of damage, but the one who suffered the most was Emboar, almost crouching down to its knees but quickly got up.

Golett however was still lying down on the ground, not defeated but weakened to the point of exhaustion.

"Golett, you got to get up. You can do this!" Golett lifted itself up to look up at its opponent in front of it waiting for Heather to give Emboar another command. From the angry stare Emboar gave Golett, it looked as if it wouldn't wait another second to take the initiative and attack without commands.

"Shadow punch!"

"Hammer arm again!"

Again like Marill with Emboar, the attacks collided with one another causing so much dust to engulf the battlefield. But this time it was different, from where I was I noticed were Golett and Emboar was, there were a small bright glow and turned into a large bright light.

"The heck was that supposed to be!?" Heather yelled frantically as she looked up at the Pokemon standing above her Emboar. All of the room fell silent as we looked up at the Pokemon where Golett once stood. Golett had evolved into a Golurk, amazed at its new form stretching out its larger fingers; it looked back down on Emboar waiting for its command.

The Pokedex which I grabbed from my bag after the evolution revealed to me that Golurk had learned a few new moves; Fly and a move called Phantom Force. Its other moves were still Shadow Punch and Iron Defense.

"Serperior! Snap out of confuse and use Vine Whip again, damn it!" Serperior attempted to use a Vine Whip, but it slapped itself in the face causing Henry to groan in frustration.

"Golurk, use fly!" Golurk jumped up high and shot up like a rocket looping right back down striking Emboar in its face with a loud thud. Golurk slid onto the battle field back to our side of the field and focused on Serperior raising its fists in front, instead of focusing on Emboar.

"Emboar, No!" Emboar remained to the ground after that last move eyes closed. Heather was out leaving Henry against us three. His Serperior remained confused, flailing its tail around attacking the ground at random times, but never at its opponent, which made Henry angrier than when Ampharos used confuse ray on it.

"Move Serperior! Snap out of it otherwise we'll be-" Henry was cut off as all three of us gave our Pokemon commands.

"Ampharos, Use Tackle on Serperior!"

"Golett use Phantom Force!"

"Marill, use tackle!"

Our Pokemon at the same time used their moves. Ampharos and Marill ran side by side together at Serperior readying to use tackle upon approach. Golurk had somehow vanished from the field. There was no sound when it vanished, but it would return, just not yet at least.

Both attacks from Ampharos and Marill made contact with Serperior as it shook its head from the damage, and then it glared at them. Without a command from Henry like he ordered it too before, Serperior had used Leaf Tornado attacking Ampharos and Marill as they were lifted from the ground spinning above the field, tiny miniature razor sharp leaves cut at them reducing their HP to critical level. The attack faded and let the two fell to the ground with a loud thud losing more HP in the process.

Henry smirked and pointed at the two Pokemon still struggling to get up, "Finish 'em off with a-" Henry stopped as Golurk suddenly appeared in front of the Serperior arms crossed.

Looking up, the Serperieor saw that Golurk was staring down at its opponent whilst waving its index finger at it before striking upwards as a large amount of energy hit Serperior as it fainted upon impact sending it back to where it began ending the battle.

The battle had ended with all three of us winning against the siblings. Our Pokemon who battled stood to the side of us waiting as we approached both Henry and Heather.

"Argh! You cheated, you must've done. A Golett evolving into a Golurk before an attack- you obviously threw a rare candy at it or something!" Henry clenched his fists angry at their defeat.

"Like I told you before back when we first met; I didn't cheat. We fought as a team together; we used timing and strategy to come out as the winner. You won't get that if you don't work together." I said calmly as Henry angrily stepped forward slightly.

"But it was two against three! That wasn't even fair!" Heather argued also stepping forward.

"You two almost defeated us, I'll admit." Sakura said, "But what we didn't do when either of us made a mistake or two was argue amongst ourselves, ignoring the battle. We cheered for our Pokemon, encouraged them to fight a little more knowing that win or lose, we'd still be proud of them."

Henry raises his fist readying to punch me, but stopped as he looked behind me. All of our Pokemon stood together readying to protect us. "You just wait! We are going to win the champion league and become the newest champions! We'll be back for you! You'll be sorry!" Both of the siblings ran out the arena together not turning back before slamming the door shut.

As for Henry and Heather; i never saw them again after that. What else is that they were going around telling everyone that they were collecting badges despite not having earned a single one. The two did in fact stop going around the region battling other trainers, from what i heard about them is that they decided to stop battling and do something else with their lives. I'd like to think that them finding something else made them a better person for it.

Without warning, our Pokemon hugged us, all except Golurk, scratching its head in confusion. My arm free of Latias' and Bayleef's grip I called it over. "Golurk, c'mon buddy." Golurk then walked up to us and all of us hugged one another with me in the center getting crushed again.

Golurk had spent years alone without friends after losing its first a long time ago afraid the same thing would happen if it made new friends. But that day changed Golurk, it realised that on that day it had truly had friends with it, it had a reason to continue.

To be continued...

Trivia:

This battle originally had two different trainers challenging Zack, but after going back on Henry and Heather and them not appearing again after Nuvema, i wanted to give them a final battle the two would have in this story.


	32. Chapter 32 Star Assassin

Chapter 32 - Star Assassin

 **Black City – Pokemon Center, a new morning**

So there I was that morning in the pokemon center's cafeteria at a table with Dewott sitting opposite eating breakfast I had ordered. Isaac said he had to visit Juliet again at the hospital to talk with her parents about her condition.

Sakura wanted to spend the day collecting more restorative items, some food and supplies for the remainder of the our walk to Castelia city (I didn't question as to why we walked instead of getting a bus or a taxi.) a day or two away so she wouldn't be gone long.

As for me however, Reiko had called me earlier before I left the room so we could talk again about something important, she said she would tell me more in a few minutes time (it's been an hour since she last sent a message).

"Zack? Are you there Zack?" Reiko's voice called out as the monitors screen lit up. Picking up the device I saw Reiko displayed on the small monitor of the Saviors device sitting in her usual office chair.

"Hi Reiko, I'm here."

"Well I got three things to tell you before you leave Black city today; the first thing is that a woman has requested the help from the Saviors. Since there are no other members within the area the task has fell onto you." Reiko cleared her throat and began typing onto the keyboard. "The mission is to protect and keep Mira Goodwin relaxed until more members of the Saviors arrive to handle the threat. The second and third things are matters related to your previous and side missions Clark has talked with us about. We are thinking of promoting you to a higher rank; rank 06."

My face didn't show it, but on the inside I was screaming for joy proud of what I had accomplished over the past few months.

"And also, continuing with third are your Pokemon Zack. The thing with Lee, he uh-" Reiko was interrupted as Lee got in front of the camera smiling.

"Yo Kiddo, I hear your Golett evolved into a Golurk. Well c'mon kid, show us the giant statue then!" Lee tried to shove Reiko out of the way to move in closer towards the monitor, but he was quickly pushed away by an angry Reiko.

"You've got your own computer, use that next time!" Reiko gave out a deep sigh as she returned to her monitor, "Sorry about that, after hearing the news of your Pokmeon's latest update, he's uh… been in his office all day researching about Golurk nonstop. He does this with every other Savior member who's Pokemon has changed. Well anyway, good luck on your side mission and we'll talk when you get back. Later." She waved at the monitor before shutting it off revealing a message.

Side Mission

To- Zack Raines

Rank Lv.07

Location of Mission-Black city – Black city Hotel

Your Mission is to help Mira Goodwin relax and to protect her from an assassin that has been sighted within the area. You must not leave her sights until higher ranking members of the saviors arrive.

Note:

Should you have any questions relating to the mission please call either Reiko, Clark or Claire to assist you in any way possible. Good luck on the mission.

Rewards:

2000 PD

Elixir

Message End. 

Mira Goodwin was a well known actress from the Unova region appearing in over 21 TV shows and a movie. She was a young actress in her early 20s but she acted like an older woman than she was after being told by a 'fan' once that she was being immature during a heated argument thus leaving a stain on how fans have viewed her in recent times.

A very recent argument she got into with a bar worker at the start of the year caused her to lose her position as the lead role for her next TV show. I think Mira talked about the bar workers family, but not in a good kind of way. She screamed and yelled to the worker that she would do this and that to individual members of the workers family, words her fans thought they would never hear from her in real life.

"Guess it's just you and me Dewott." I said as Dewott smiled but continued to eat his plate of crackers half eaten whilst staring at a woman sitting next to our table with a relaxed smile. Thinking back at one point what Isaac mentioned about our Pokemon, Dewott didn't just like only female Pokemon, but also female humans on some occasions. Dewott didn't mention why he does, just said a simple 'I like broadening my horizons.' and finished with a short laugh.

A conversation to talk with Dewott about that, how would you even start? 'So Dewott uh… how about those girls at the beach?' (Man, that was lame.)

 ****

 **Black City Hotel – 7** **th** **Floor room 708**

Outside the room of Mira Goodwin I waited as one of two bodyguards waiting outside her room entered the room after taking my id away from me.

After about 5 or so minutes later, the bodyguard left the room and told me that I was clear to enter and that I would be watched at all times with my time with Mira.

Black city hotel wasn't the average hotel you could stay at for about a couple of hundreds to a thousand, it was the kind of hotel a lot of rich people from all over stayed in. From the actors, to the businessmen, and to the kingpins showing off their 'Hard earned' cash to whoever looks at them funny.

Mira's room was pretty large. Heh, largest hotel room I had ever been in I have to admit. The walls and ceiling of the room were painted gold. The floor was made of solid wood, new probably as I could not see a single scratch anywhere or maybe the staff takes care of the hotel pretty well.

To the left were the bathroom and the right a large set of expensive looking wardrobes. In front of us were two large windows, curtains drawn shut with a very large bed in front, the kind of bed you could shut the drapes around the frame. (Not sure of the name of the bed) But sitting on the bed waiting for me was Mira as she looked from TV, blonde hair, red dress, and the looks of a beautiful model. But her appearance, her expression was that of tiredness and fear.

"Oh marvellous, the Savior is-" Mira paused as she stopped to examine me closer by sitting up more. "Y-you're not a Savior, you're just some weird kid looking for an autograph, aren't you!?"

"Uh, I'm not looking for an autograph-"

"Not an autograph then. So what then? To take a photograph with me so you can send it to your friends and post more stupid comments about me on the internet?"

"I'm with the Saviors. My name is Zack Raines rank 07, I was called here to protect you until other members arrive later today." Mira got up from the bed and walked over stopping about 10 inches away from me.

"I thought Saviors were adults. Yeesh, I guess they hire any age these days… but I suppose you'll do until the grownups arrive."

"I won't lie, but I have managed to handle some-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." She walked back to the bed and fell back resting her head on the pillow after pulling the drapes slightly concealing her from view. "And I am an award winning actress with 5 golden globes… (!) *sighs* J-just sit down and watch some cartoons or some weirdo show you kids watch these days. Don't you dare bother me… lazy kid."

 **1 Hour later…**

An hour had passed by, and the saviours had not yet shown up at the hotel, or even neared Black city by now. Mira remained on her bed eyes staring up at the ceiling blinking only when needed to. Me and Dewott were sitting on the couch watching some a baseball game on TV airing in the Nimbasa city stadium. Dewott sat there bored and obviously hungry from the sounds his stomach was making. Every time his stomach growled, I could've sworn I also heard Mira look over from her bed and scowl at him.

Mira wasn't a fan of Pokemon, she despised all of them in fact. It didn't matter if a Pokemon either wild or trainer owned she would tell them to leave her alone or at three occasions in her early acting career injured 5 Pokemon because she claimed they all 'Gave her a look' it isn't clear of what she meant by that, despite numerous times by fans and reporters every time they see her they never get an answer.

*Knock, knock, knock!* the knocking at the door caused Mira to instantly get up and walked over to the bathroom door about to lock it fearing that the assassin she told the Saviors about would be there on the other side.

Grabbing Latias' Pokeball from my bag I pulled back my arm about to throw the ball to release her, until…

"Ms. Goodwin? Are you decent?" The bodyguard from outside the door entered peeking his head in first before entering. "W-where is Ms. Goodwin?"

"Marcus!" Mira emerged from the bathroom running straight for her bodyguard Marcus, almost running into Dewott as she jumped up hugging him. "Oh darling, these two mugs are the most boring bland individuals I have ever met… oh!" 

"But, you told us to watch TV. You said you didn't want to be bothered." I said to Mira, but she refused to listen and continued to shout out to Marcus arms still wrapped around her. the two continued to talk and laugh playfully amongst themselves ignoring that we were there awkwardly watching them like that.

Kneeling down next to Dewott I said, "I'm gonna call and ask Reiko how long these Saviors are-"

"M-Marcus! Stop! Wh-what are you doing with a knife!?" Mira shrieked as Marcus pressed a kitchen knife's blade against Mira's throat smirking as the knife's sharp edge cut her drawing a small trinket of blood.

"Quiet wrench! You stupid kid, you had one job and you blew it. Protect her from this so-called assassin right? Well guess what kid? I am the fucking assassin." He laughed as he finished, but Mira stomped on his foot with her high heels down hard causing Marcus to scream slightly in pain. He then picked Mira up placing her on his shoulder and pointed the knife at us. "Follow us, and I'll throw her off the roof- Oh fuck it, I'll do it anyway! Wooo!" Marcus ran out of the room towards the stairs with us chasing after them.

"Assassins are supposed to be stealthy!" Mira scream hitting his back with her fists. "What kind of assassin walks around yelling that they are assassins? An Ass named Marcus! That's who! I Loved you Marcus! I thought we were going to find an island together! Build an entire home for us and start a family!"

"Times have changed sweet cheeks! This guy ain't looking for the thing called love; I look for the cash to earn the title of 'Ultimate Bad ass Assassin' of all time!"

"Assassins don't- oh look who I am talking to here; an idiot wannabe assassin!"

Both of them continued to argue as we ran up the stairs leading towards the higher levels of the hotel until eventually we reached the rooftop with Marcus standing near the edge with Mira still carried on his shoulder.

"If you take another step kid, I swear I will drop her like a sack full of Rockruff's! Back off!" Stepping back slightly, the door behind us shut. Pulling the door handle, it wouldn't budge.

" _Great, what can i- wait! I have Pokemon who can help me out with this."_ Turning back around to face the assassin he ordered for us to leave the rooftop once more letting Mira down turning her towards us.

"Is he the one?" Marcus asked as he whispered into Mira's ear. "Is this the guy who did this to us?" Mira looked at him with confusion and shook her head, "What are you talking about Marcus? What's wrong with you?" 

"Is he the fucking one!? Is he the Savior member who locked up my brother!?" Marcus screamed echoing throughout the city. _"Brother locked up? Who does he mean?"_ I thought as Marcus let go of Mira.

"Well? Go on sweet cheeks, run towards the kid then." He smiled lowering the knife to his side. Mira stood where she was crossing her arms narrowing her eyes at him then turned towards us. Mira smirked at us then pulled out a small handgun from a gun belt attached to her thigh from underneath her dress, and aimed it at us.

"If you haven't figured it out by now, then I am obviously a good actor. True I am an actor first, but a member of Annihilation second. Reason I joined Annihilation if you're wandering; I needed some excitement in my boring life. For too long those poor saps have annoyed me to the point all comments are nothing but STUPID WORDS! that cause HEADACHES!"

"Dewott Dew!" Dewott grabbed one of his scalchops and activated his Razor shell move standing in front of me.

"Why did we call you here you might ask? Not too long ago, you encountered an Annihilation soldier within a forest with an army of reanimated corpses. He was very serious about his job, but whenever he met someone with potential, he'd let them live to return to fight them one last time." Mira said as she scowled at Dewott and aimed the gun at him instead of me.

"My brother," Marcus raised his knife pointing the tip of the blade at me, "Told me who it was who he had met in the forest and who it was who defeated him. It was YOU, ZACK RAINES!" He yelled in anger stepping towards us, but was held back by Mira.

"Why am I angry? 4 days since his imprisonment. A day after I spoke to him… there was a riot…" Marcus gritted his teeth, "A damned riot! Police tried to regain control, but it was getting out of hand. They resorted to using firearms to control the situation. My brother wasn't a man to join in on fights; he helped not only the prisoners when wounded, but also the security. When attempting to stop the bleeding of one stabbed member of security, one noticed my brother and assumed that he was the one who injured him… shot him dead right  
then and there."

"We then staged this so-called assassination on me to get the closest Savior member within the area, which is obviously you after making sure no other member would be here within the city." Mira Said as she stood standing next to Marcus, comforting him as he sobbed. "And now sweet Marcus wants revenge for the one who locked him up' Zack Raines, you."

Marcus sobbed even more causing Mira to look over at him allowing us a chance to act. With my hand I quickly grabbed Latias' Pokeball from my bag tossing the ball in front of me and Dewott she materialized in front of us levitating towards me to hug like she usually does when released. 

"Latias, use Protect!" Latias stopped in her tracks and quickly used Protect shielding us from any potential danger from either Marcus or Mira, noticing Latias' sudden appearance caused them both to attack.

*Gunfire* Mira shot once at Latias' Protect and waited, but Marcus with his knife slashed continuously yet furiously at Protect trying to break free but to no avail.

"Get. Out. Of. That. Damned. Protect. You. wuss!." Marcus shouted with every strike against Latias' Protect appearing more and more tired with each slash, but refusing to give up. "Fight me like a man! Face… me…!"

Releasing another Pokemon out from my bag out of Protect emerged on my command was Golurk standing staring down at the two beneath it. Mira and Marcus aimed their weapons at Golurk instead of us, I came up with a plan to defeat the two.

"Latias, use your own initiative to battle Mira. Take the gun away from her." Latias smiled and broke Protect to charge directly at Mira with a Mist ball.

Marcus standing just a step away from Golurk attempted to stab it with the kitchen knife a couple of times.

*Clink!* But it was unaffected by the knife. Golurk crossed its arms and waited for me to issue a command. Marcus turned around to face me and Dewott gripping the knife tightly in his hand. "I will end you for my brother's death! Your Pokemon can kill me, I don't care. But I will finish you off!"

Mira suddenly notices Latias after using Mist ball at her missing by only a few inches away from Mira's body. Mira raised the gun and almost pulled the trigger until Latias had used Psychic to knock the gun out of her hand as it fell off the hotel roof hitting the ground of an alley. Latias now levitating close to Mira, she used one last Mist ball hitting her directly knocking her out from the impact to the head.

"Mira! Mira!" Marcus desperately called out to Mira after witnessing how Latias defeated his beloved so easily enraged him even more, gritting his teeth he began to charge at me and Dewott, but was instantly grabbed from behind by Golurk wrapping its arms around Marcus slightly crushing him, but not fatally or enough to cause major damage or his organs or any of his bones. Despite the impossible to escape painful grip, Marcus continued to hold on tight to the knife in his hand. Suddenly, the knifes blade shattered like glass as a magenta colored mist surrounded the blade until all that was left was the handle. Latias' entire eyes glowed a bright white leaving no hint of amber or black in her eyes. Her eyes stayed like that for a little while longer, until they returned back to normal.

"Dew?" Dewott stepped closer to Latias reaching his paw out to her, but she just shook her head in confusion unsure why her eyes glowed white.

"You alright Latias?" I asked as she looked at me and Dewott standing beside her. Latias smiled and gave a quick nod before returning to check up on Mira. Dewott and I continued to stare at Latias, but with worry and confusion. Never has Latias' eyes glowed like that when using Psychic. To be honest, well it's kind of dumb really, but I thought at that moment Latias was going to evolve.

Yeah I know, Latias' can't evolve into another Pokemon. But why did it happen then? Latias didn't seem to know, and this wasn't an ability or anything else I knew of. _"What was it that had caused Latias to do that?"_ Despite questioning myself in my mind, I never got an answer only more questions.

 **Black City Hotel – Lobby 1 hour later**

I had been about an hour since the police arrived, waiting in the lobby as the police carried away the two of them. As soon as the gunfire from the roof was heard the police were called in an instant. News reporters also arrived after discovering who the shooter was causing more and more crowds from the streets to surround the hotel to catch a glimpse of Mira walking out in handcuffs attempting to hide her face with her hands.

Mira's bodyguard Marcus didn't attempt to conceal his appearance, he instead walked with the police officers but eyes tearing up sobbing uncontrollably as he inched closer to the car almost at one point refusing to step closer, trying to escape.

Now with the Saviors device in hand I called Reiko to update her on what had happened with Mira Goodwin and the assassin. What Mira had said to me on the rooftop was true, she was indeed a member of Annihilation tasked with Marcus to kill the Savior member involved with the slavery operation within Lacunose city and their allies also involved.

As for the other Saviors members that were supposed to take over the mission, they arrived just as the police showed.

"I'm sorry Zack; I didn't know this would happen. I am truly sorry." Reiko pleaded

"No one got hurt today. And besides, how could you have known they were members of Annihilation?" I smiled as Reiko also smiled herself. 

"Thanks Zack. Just return to Castelia as soon as you can. There won't be any more side missions until after further notice. We can't risk running into the same trap twice… gotta run a triple background check on all clients from now on, just to be extra safe." Reiko typed something on her keyboard and smiled looking back up at the camera awkwardly. "I don't really do this that often, but if you are interested; tell me when you return. Take care Zack." The image of Reiko faded shutting off the video leaving a message icon behind.

The message read: 

To-Zack Raines

From-Reiko Stone

Subject-Interested or not

After placing you in trouble recently, I felt really bad about it and how close you were to getting killed… or your Pokemon getting seriously injured or worse.

If you'd like, we could go to the Castelia City Moonlight Café to get a drink or something, my treat if you like. If interested or not just tell me when you return.

Or if you want to do something else, we could use the Training VR if you like. Something to make up for that close call.

Stay safe out there.

End of Message 

Dewott sitting beside elbowed into my rib winking as he held up his other paw with a thumbs up-like pose after reading the message with me.

I didn't blame Reiko for what had happened that day, but what happened almost gave me the sudden urge to call Clark or whoever it was to… give up with being a member of the Saviors… I didn't want to be there risking my life like that, knowing that a criminal with a grudge would be right around the corner waiting for either me, my friends or family.

" _A dream to become a rank 01 Savior member, to settle down and have a family… I won't get there if I am dead."_ Closing the device down I sat there in silence ignoring the first few calling outs from Dewott waving his paw in front of my face. _"I can't be a savior member… not like this."_

 ___

 **Annihilation HQ**

In a dark cold large room with a desk and armchair in the center, Juro the leader of Annihilation sat in his chair watching from the TV placed on top of the desk the news that had happened recently in Black City. 

"Mira Goodwin and her bodyguard whose name has not yet been given have been arrested after a recent attempt to assassinate Zack Raines, a member of the Saviors-" Juro switched off the TV and called for his assistant to enter his office. 

"Have you seen the news?" Juro asked his assistant as he stepped inside with Shiny Latias levitating beside him. "Apparently the Saviors have but once again defeated us in our struggle. bunch of pinheads! Never hire idiots looking for revenge... *sighs*" 

"Our intel has gathered a large amount of information about this Zack Raines character, as well as his other two travelling companions." The assistant looked nervously at Shiny Latias staring at him with an evil smile intimidating him by pretending to swat at him with her claws. "The girls name is Sakura Kanai, she is 13 years old and lives with her mother. at a young age she saw a child psychiatrist in Undella town." The assistant placed all three documents on Juro's desk. "The boy's name is Isaac Anderson, a residence of Black city. He has no living relatives, but there is this girl he knew in high school named Juliet."

"Zack Raines… I know that name. Him and his Latias should come after us, shouldn't they?" Juro smiled at his assistant confusing him, "Sir? T-they're the enemy are they not?" 

"How does one capture said enemy I may ask you?" Juro grinned as he chuckled, "By involving their family and loved ones." 

Down in Annihilations HQ labs was the machine Juro mentioned, something he was working on to change the world, for years it slowly progressed from the units, to the tenths and almost to 100%. 

It was now 99.8% complete. 

Only 3 days 14 hours and 16 minutes… until the fate of the world would be decided.

To be continued...

Trivia:

Special 02/02 Burger N Fries 

Building Information: Courtesy from Reiko – LV.01 INFORMATION

Burger N Fries

Opened in – 1987

Restaurants around the world 481 combined in Unova, Kanto, Sinnoh, Kalos and Johto

Founder – Josh Summers (Changed first name from Tommy) 

Products – Fast Food

Products:

Fries

Chili Fries

Hamburger

Nachos

Burger N Fries Combo (Fries, Cheeseburger, Shake, Donut and Onion Rings) Large

Salad

Donut

Chicken Wings

Chicken Wings Spicy

Shakes

Water

Coffee

Burger N Fries Kidz Menu (Cheese Burger, Fries and Shake)

Prices vary all over the world. 

Note:

Unova (Castelia City shut down due to Pokemon gang killing the entire buildings staff (6). Saviors called in to investigate but no gang members have been found as of July last year.) 

Savior member notes: from Lee

Is this research thing for real? Seriously Reiko? A research note on a damn burger joint!? You freaking kiddin' me? Man, what's next?

The Pokemon center, (well I guess they could look into the nurse Joys that appear everywhere.)

Grandma Ambers Cookie store? Ooh! I love a good Cookie(!)

Gotta talk to the old man about this. I wanna read about more interesting files than what the local Pokemon store has for sale… sighs. Times like this I wish I were a fisherman… 

End of File.


	33. Chapter 33 Dead Inside

Chapter 33 - Dead Inside 

**Route 15**

About 4 hours ago a thought came to me, 'Do I really want to be a member of the Saviors if it truly means risking my life or others I care about?' I thought before I started with this career was that I wouldn't have to worry about the criminals that get locked up. To come back out and exact there revenge, threaten my friends and myself… or worse.

Walking silently with the others I thought _"Just by allowing them to travel with me… they would go after them as well. Why did I agree to let them to go with me in the first place?"_

My mind was full of choices about what I could do about it. Move to a different region was one; request the help from the Saviors to prevent any previously encountered criminal to locate me or anyone else I know was another.

" _Maybe being a savior wasn't my real purpose then…"_ I felt sad, like I was lost in the world without a map or light to guide my way. I wanted to live life the way I had wanted; to become a rank 01 of the saviours, earn enough money and then find someone I could start a family with, live out my days teaching other young members of the saviours like Claire, Billy and Lee have done.

But how can I reach that dream if it means me and my friends being targeted by 'those' people?

"Dewott? Dew?" Dewott shook my shoulder lightly gaining my attention as we continued to walk. Isaac looked over his shoulder and said, "Dewott wants to know if you're feeling alright."

"Uh- Y-yeah, I was just thinking about things. Nothing that important really."

"So Isaac, how was Juliet before you left the hospital?" Sakura asked playfully nudging his arm with her elbow, careful not to drop Minccino taking her afternoon nap.

"She's good. Her parents came in and asked how my progress was doing to help earn the money for the operation. They told me they have about 60% of the money needed… but as for me, I have about 10%."

"That's great! 30% left and you'll have enough." Sakura smiled as she said that, but Isaac put on an awkward half smile, as if he wasn't proud of that.

Isaac smiled and said "I can probably get enough within the next 5 months if I get a job and work on saving up. It'll take awhile, but I know I'll get there."

"Any career you have in mind, Isaac?" Sakura asked as she glanced over at him as he stared up at the blue sky still walking with a sigh, "It's something… but I'm not sure if it's something I'll enjoy. I'm thinking about working at the restaurant in Driftveil, The Four Diamond Restaurant. Pay is good, and so the rent staying at the apartments there are low in price meaning I can save up for the operation whilst keeping myself well fed and a roof over my head."

" _Driftveil… that's where that mafia boss guy operated in, Drake I think his name was. Would any of his goons that fled the warehouse still be under his command from jail, waiting for any of us to return to the city for revenge? What do I do damn it!?"_

 **A long boring quiet walk later…**

The walk through route 15 had almost reached its end, leaving us with about 10-15 more minutes left until we reach Marvelous Bridge, then route 16, and then Nimbasa city. We would finally reach Castelia city by tomorrow afternoon if we kept up with the pace we were going at… which was slow, not a tiresome slow, but more of a relaxing pace.

This route unlike the other routes we travelled through was one many trainers on occasion avoided. There was this rumor back in Nuvema town I once heard but didn't remember until after we left this route which I would've liked to have a look at for myself. The rumor was this; as soon as you reach the strange laboratory near the Marverlous route entrance, there should be a large tree, the largest one in front of the lab. Behind that tree was an almost perfect cube-shaped rock. If someone placed a dollar on that rock, walk to the other side of the tree and count to 10 and return, the Pokedollar would be gone. Place another Pokedollar and return to the other side again and count to 10, return to discover your Pokedollar was replaced with 4 Pokedollars doubling what you had left on that rock.

"What the heck!?" Isaac gasped as we both stopped at the sight in front of us. A trail of blood from the laboratory we had just approached. "I-is this someone's idea of a joke? Y-yeah, it's gotta be."

The laboratory doors suddenly opened revealing a woman in a lab coat running out covered in blood screaming frantically as she ran into Isaac falling to the ground.

"Uh! H-hey, are you alright ma'am?" Isaac asked as he placed a hand on the woman's shoulder. The woman clutched tighter to Isaac sobbing louder burying her head onto his chest.

A few moments had passed, the woman who had ran out of the laboratory still clinging to Isaac had finally calmed down… well almost. The woman's name was Hayley Jones and she was about 26 years old. She had worked in the lab for about 3 years with her friends after leaving university. She was very bright with her work and got along well with her colleagues. Why she was covered in blood and screaming out of the building we easily found out… but who did it wasn't someone anyone could've expected.

"We don't know where they came from. Those hideous monsters attacked us without warning from security or anyone…!" Hayley took a sip of water Sakura handed her, gulping small amounts trying not to choke on it. "We gathered in the cafeteria as a last defense. We had called for the Saviors 2 hours after it happened… they sent someone, a-a Mathew I think. We attempted to escape, but those things attacked, separating us. So here I am."

Grabbing the Saviors Device from my bag I quickly contacted the Saviors about what had happened. What Hayley had told us about seeing 'Hideous monsters' and a Savior member named Mathew was all true. Back up was on their way and would arrive within the next few minutes. We were told to stay out of the lab until the Saviors showed up.

"HELP! *Screams*" A man from inside the laboratory screamed loudly as glass shattered after a loud *thud*

"That voice…!" Hayley said looking at the labs entrance, "that's Hisato! P-please help him." There was silence, no scream, no struggle from the inside. It was nothing but silence from within. Standing up I walked towards the entrance.

"Zack, wait! Hold on!" Isaac called out to me as I now stood right at the door with Dewott standing next to me. "Stay here with Hayley, I-I'll go inside and help them."

"Zack!" I heard running from behind. Dewott looked back, but I didn't, I already knew who it was. "I'll go with you."

"Sakura no, it's too dangerous!" Isaac tried to call her back, but Sakura stayed standing beside me. "I can hold my own. I won't get in the way. But I want to help."

Dewott lightly tugged at my pants. Looking down at Dewott he gave a small nod, agreeing that Sakura should come with me into the lab to help the survivors. I accepted, allowing for Sakura to come with us. She then turned to Isaac and spoke.

"Isaac, will you be alright here?" Isaac stood up after carefully leaning Hayley against the nearby tree, but kept close to her. "I'll be alright." And as if on cue, all three of Isaac's Pokemon appeared from their Pokeballs in front of him cheering, "Since I have these guys with me." He laughed nervously until he noticed Sakura grabbing one of her Pokeballs from her bag.

"Zack, I think it would be best if we leave and release some of our Pokemon with Isaac and Hayley. At least those that won't be able to fit inside the building; Lugia and Golurk won't be able to walk, fight or stand beside us. I'll send leave Salamence here."

"Right. It's better to give Isaac and Hayley some back-up than keep them with us in a cramped up building."

To be honest, I was afraid. But why was I risking my life like this? Despite a few moments ago I was deciding that risking my life wasn't worth it in the Saviors.

Fear, adrenaline, or was it trying to find out if I truly belonged with them? As a Savior?

 **Pokemon Transfer Laboratory Entrance**

The labs exterior was that of a two-story house, not that large really since this lab was only to receive Pokemon from other regions to the Unova region… I think that's what it was for. Like the lab back in Nuvema town, this one had its own garden for the Pokemon to gets some fresh air, stretch around and such.

But this lab wasn't as bright and colourful as it was on the outside, it was mostly dark, lights flickering on and off at the entrance of the lab and down a corridor or 2. The blood trail from the outside now dry was leading towards a back room behind the reception desk; we didn't go inside that room.

Our only source of light was from the Saviors device that required a random button pressed to keep the light on every few seconds. (I didn't figure out how to change the settings for the brightness on the device then.)

As we searched the entrance section of the lab, we only found littered trash near the cafeteria. Food left lying on the lunch table, left bags and multiple documents scattered around the floor amongst the trash, but thankfully no blood or… bodies or dismembered sections of one…

Travelling up the stairs at the back of the entrance hall, we where now entering a section of the laboratory called the 'Transceiver section' which were larger than the ground floor in terms of more rooms. It was probably because of the generators they had at the ground floor.

The two of us walked side by side as we walked down the first and only corridor upon reaching the top of the stairs. 5 doors in total, 2 doors on the left and right side, and one door at the end of the corridor.

"I wonder where Hisato is." Sakura whispered as she held onto my hand as we walked in the darkness, "Do you think that room back behind the reception desk was where Hisato was calling out from?"

"I… u-uh, I don't know. When the Saviors arrive they can-"

*Clank* something metallic had dropped on the floor in the first room on the right, followed by a slight shuffling, then nothing.

Approaching the door we stood and leaned in to hear anything from the other side of the door… we could pick something up… like a small quiet gasp from within. "Survivors?" I thought as we now stood at the side of the door and called out.

"Is anyone in there?" Nothing, only silence. "We're here to help." As we stood there waiting, the silence continued leaving us with doubt that there was no survivors inside that room, and that whatever had caused the noise was probably the generator or something.

*Click* the door slightly opened, it was dark inside, so we couldn't see anything. Until a light shined at us from within, a hand had reached out and grabbed me and Sakura inside quickly with Dewott following behind.

The door instantly shut as all of us were dragged inside. The room was a conference room of some kind with many chairs and a projector being used as a barricade, along with the large table. Inside the room where about 10 men and women; 8 wore lab coats, 1 a slightly older looking man wearing a black suit and tie. As for the other one, he was wearing some kind of black one-suit, with a gen belt strapped around his waist, and a set of small bags strapped around his chest containing healing items and such.

The older man approached the man wearing the one-suit angrily, "You fool! Shinning that light in here, bringing these kids inside little of knowing if they have been infected or not. If you have risked our lives I swear I will-"

The man wearing the one-suit stepped up to him with an intimidating approach, "You'll do what exactly? Nothing is the answer. And besides, reanimated corpses don't infect living creatures creating more of them, they just kill." He walked away from him and approached us. "What are you two doing here? Are any of you hurt?"

We both shook our heads, Dewott and Minccino included. "Hayley who works here ran out screaming calling out for help." I said alerting the people in the lab coats, along with the older man. "We heard screaming before. Hayley claimed it was from a man named Hisato."

"Oh great(!)" the older man sarcastically scoffed, "Us survivors are saved by two diaper wearing babies. Oh lordy! We are saved praise the almighty Arceus for these brave souls(!) Wake me up when actual help arrives." The older man walked over to a chair nearest the whiteboard crossing his arms with a deep sigh.

"Don't mind him, he gets cranky now and then. My name is Mathew Collins; I am a rank 03 member of the Saviors. The old dude over there, his name is Jacob; he owns this building, as well as a lot of other buildings and business' within the Unova region"

"My name is Zack, I'm also in the Saviors, rank 07 so far. This is Sakura, she and I have travelled together since I joined up with them a few months ago."

"A Savior then, who'd of guessed it, huh?" Mathew looked down at the two Pokemon now stood beside us. "I take it they are your Pokemon?" We both gave a short nod as Mathew walked over to the center of the room and offered us a chair each to sit on whilst we wait for the help.

 **10 Minutes Later…**

For over 10 minutes Mathew, Sakura and I talked about our journey; from meeting up near Accumula, to joining the Saviors, meeting Isaac in the Desert resort, a mission to return Chikorita back with her trainer, to now returning to the city together. Telling the story how we met and came here attracted the attention of the others in the room, even Jacob who glared at everything we had said.

"Man, that's some journey you three have been on. That sounds very similar to the one me and-" Mathew's smile faded. He turned around towards the corner of the room where the whiteboard were. Nothing in particular, "Me and Sam had."

"W-what happened?" Sakura asked as Mathew looked at Sakura.

"We received a call from the Saviors that the corpses had been sighted within the laboratory within route 15. Upon entry we were attacked by the corpses as they were attacking the scientists. I tried to fight them off whilst escorting the survivors out, but I couldn't. That's when I realized that Sam had fallen to the ground, overcome by the-… he died, right there outside the entrance. So with no other option, I had to gather the survivors and hold up in this room until back up arrives."

"We used to hate one another as kids. Just two neighborhood kids going to the same school and class until high school. Man we hated each other, not sure why though." Sam chuckled to himself as he smiled. "As soon as I joined the Saviors, my partner for the missions together was indeed Sam. I remember us complaining about it, trying to change partners. But old Lee yelled to us, 'Like or not like; but we are allies here! Work together, or I'll beat ya'll up together!' man!"

"It took a few missions to find out we had the same goal in life. Back then, we lived in a rough neighborhood. Bad gangs hanging out everywhere, bad everything, you name it. He and I wanted to clean up the neighborhood, return it to what it once was; a peaceful place people and Pokemon alike could walk together without fear of being attacked or mugged. We got that goal together after working in that neighborhood in Nimbasa for a month. Since then, we became good friends." Mathew turned away from us to look back at the corner of the room. Jacob however glared at that last part, almost as if something about Nimbasa ticked him off. "It shows that, no matter how much you hate someone childish or not, not even knowing one another, different backgrounds and beliefs, even species… you can always find a friend."

Suddenly without any of us realizing, Jacob had snuck up behind Mathew and grabbed his gun from his belt aiming at him. Mathew stood up in front of us trying to protect us from Jacob in case he fired at us.

"Jacob, what are you doing? Put that gun down now!" Mathew ordered to Jacob as he slowly stepped back to the whiteboard. "I know it was you, Mathew. Fucking Savior Bitch!" he spat steadying his hand with his other.

"Jacob, listen to me; I am asking you calmly to put the gun down. You're scarring these people." Jacob glared at him and said, "Do you have any idea what you have done?"

"My sons, they lost their careers because of you. You beat them all up with stupid baseball bat. You're lower than those monsters out there because of it!"

"Jacob, I didn't hurt your sons. I wasn't even near the stadium when it happened. My story with Sam happened a few years prior."

" _The stadium… baseball stadium… sons beaten by a baseball bat. Was this man the father of the Carter Brothers?"_ I thought as I stared at Jacob glaring down at Mathew.

"Ashton, Liam and Troy all lost their place in the baseball team because of you, Savior Raticate! No one wants to hire them for anything anymore. Not even my friends won't accept them for anything… lying bitches!"

Jacob smiled aiming the gun at Mathew's head "Did you know I could call them? Your enemies, who were they again… Annihilation, was that it? I requested for my revenge against you. To trap you in a location that I could watch as those monsters tear you to shreds standing over you as you die knowing it was me."

Mathew remained silent as he tightened his fists. He remained still and listened to what Jacob had to say. "That sissy boy, Sam was it? Why do you think he fell? Because he were overrun by those disgusting monsters? Of cause not, I pushed the bitch over. Died like a little bitch yelping like a Growlithe pup if you ask me."

"He would've lived, if you didn't involve him. Like you involved your affairs with my sons. Because of that, it is you who are to blame for his death."

Stepping forward I tried to say to Jacob it was me who dealt with them "Jacob, wait! It w-was me w-" Mathew stopped me and shook his head and stepped forward towards Jacob. Jacob then turned the gun towards the scientists desperately pleading for Jacob not to shoot them, but he didn't listen. Jacob smiled feeling victorious.

"I'll do the same by killing them one by one… and you. Since I am the only survivor, I'll make up a good story how I escaped unharmed by the monsters."

"Pull the trigger then. Pull that trigger and watch me as the man I used to be comes back. There is no law, no rule, no screams or orders for me to stop, but I swear. I fucking swear that today will be the last day I become a Savior as I beat you to death. There is no way I am letting you leave this building without justice!"

"I have lawyers, boy! I can easily break free of your stupid Saviors rules and justice system." Jacob smirked coldly as he aimed the gun at one of the scientists' head.

Just then, Mathew ran as fast as he could towards Jacob startled at his sudden running. Jacob didn't fire the weapon at the scientists, but he in turn tried to aim at Mathew and fire, but he was too late and was tackled to the ground, gun taken away from him. Mathew stood up aiming the gun at Jacobs head.

"W-wait! P-please i-" Jacob pleaded covering his face, "I'm s-sorry I-I d-didn't mean it! I'm sorry!"

"His name was Sam… His name was Sam Banks, he was about to become a father in about a month's time. He was a brave member of the Saviors, the bravest I had ever seen… his life cut short because of a cowering piece of crap like you! There is no law, no rule, no screams or orders for me to stop what I am about to do to you." Mathew steadily calmed himself and breathed as he aimed the gun at Jacob's head.

"Stop, y-you can't do this! I'm sorry! Please don't kill me!" Jacob pleaded now covering his head with his arms. The scientists, some refused to watch whilst others had looked away. Sakura covered her mouth in shock.

Jacob screamed, followed by a few gasps in the room as Mathew lowered the gun, he didn't fire. Jacob slowly removed his arms away from his face and looked up at Mathew, no smile, no grin… he was sad.

"But I won't. I could've killed you if I had bullets to begin with. That's why I knew you wouldn't be able to kill anyone before. Despite your cruelty, how you murdered Sam, brought us here for your sick thing you call revenge, I'd rather watch you go to jail than waste my time with you!" Mathew lowered the gun and stood watching over Jacob, still shaking, still sweating with fear.

* * *

 ****

 **20 Minutes Later**

The Saviors arrived about 8 minutes after Mathew had taken the gun away from Jacob. They stormed the lab and defeated all the corpses within the area (There were only about 8 of them in the building) followed by a massive sweep of route 15 and the bridge.

Jacob was arrested on the spot and didn't refuse. He quietly but calmly walked to the Savior truck cuffed head hung low. As he got inside and sat down, he took one last look out of the truck and stared at me. I knew who he was; Jacob Carter, the father of Ashton, Liam, and Troy Carter, the once baseball stars of Nimbasa city, played for many years until their career ended after attacking a Chikorita and me.

Jacob Carter stared at me before the doors began to shut. Did he know it was me who was there instead of Mathew that day? I would never know. Jacob Carter remained in prison for a long time, 20 years at most. His business' he owned later shut down, owned by new ones in the end. His sons never played baseball again after leaving the hospital. They never appeared in another TV commercial or interview again. What remained of them faded into obscurity, no mention from anything or anybody who knew them really. I guess they just wanted to start a new life again after what had happened to them.

Hisato, Hayley's friend was later found safe, unharmed as soon as the Saviors arrived. He tried to save Hayley before, but he and Hayley were ambushed by the corpses. Hisato lured the corpses away from Hayley allowing her time to escape the lab. Fearing for his life he screamed almost tripped and fell. He managed to lose the corpses and so he hid inside a large trashcan within the kitchen behind the cafeteria.

Some of the corpses did however leave the entrance of the laboratory, scaring Hayley at the sight of them. They were quickly handled by our Pokemon to which Isaac said, 'It only took one Move set to defeat them, they were weaker than usual.' The Saviors when called also noticed a difference on the weakness of the corpses recently.

"Hey kid," Mathew called out from a small group of Savior members. He walked up to me standing with Sakura and Isaac. "The others told me what happened between you and the Carter brothers back in Nimbasa city."

"Why did you stop me from telling Jacob, that is was me who did it?" I asked him as he looked back at the small group talking to one another.

"I didn't know it was you who he was truly after. But I felt that what he had done to Sam to hunt you who defeated his sons; he had crossed the line when he involved Sam. I didn't want other people getting hurt because of me..." Mathew turned and faced me. "Listen Zack, no matter what happens, how many threats or dangerous scenarios you may be in, just remember this; the Saviors will always have your back, and those you care for."

Did that change my mind about quitting the Saviors? I don't know, sure it gave me a second thought about it. But I was still unclear of what I wanted to do.

And very soon, I would find my answer.

The Machine will be activated… within 3 days.

To be continued...

Trivia:

Character Bio 02/02 - Zack Raines

Zack's childhood in Nuvema town was hard for him especially at school. Zack never had any friends so he instead was home schooled at the age of 6. Zack spent his time at home studying everything he needed to get ready for the Saviors. He and Latias spent a lot of time playing with each other outside but never ventured outside of Nuvema town after a thief attempted at one time to capture Latias, but Zack had caught Latias prior to the attempted capture using the master ball he had found in the forest surrounding Nuvema town. Zack did not know about the master balls 100% catch rate and how rare they were. Zack at first came off as shy and nervous around new people and waited for them to speak to him first, but this died down after he joined the saviors and opened up more.


	34. Chapter 34 Lugia

**AN:Very close to the last chapter of this story and i am really trying my best to upload each chapter on time without much delay. I have run into another problem with my computer... again but do not worry, i have an alternative method to release a new chapter a week. It is possible that this alternative method i have may be a lot slower than i originally thought.**

 **So thanks for reading this story so far, and as always, please sit back and enjoy chapter 34.**

Chapter 34 - Lugia

And so we finally arrived in route 16 after crossing the Marvelous bridge, which by the way was an uneventful 1 hour long stay just watching the ocean beneath the bridge. it was a quiet stay, not many people walked across the bridge during that time.

Route 16 wasn't a long route really, it was only about a 10 minute walk from Marvelous bridge to Nimbasa city. unlike the bridge from before, this route had more people walking through it- i mean, from Nimbasa until they walked to the entrance of Marvelous bridge and back.

We found a small picnic area to sit in and decided to rest up for a while, we didn't plan on staying in Nimbasa city seeing as how Castelia city was just past the joint avenue leading to route 4 was fixed after the attack in Castelia a few months back, we would make it to the city in another hour.

Our Pokemon sat beside us next the the wooden benches almost near the entrance to Nimbasa city. the sounds from the amusement park nearby made it clear to us.

I had bought us some ice cream cones from the ice cream vendor near us. Our Pokemon all had their own selections of food to eat together; Oran berries, Razz berry, Bluk berry, Leppa berry, and a few pieces of fruit. Golurk who didn't seem to eat anything had a bowl cupped in one of its hands and pretended to eat something from it. Latias on a few occasions attempted to lick my ice cream, i almost gave up that ice cream cone after getting the strange feeling that Latias did in fact lick it when i wasn't looking... yeah.

"Man, talk about good weather! Great for hitting the beach, right?" Isaac cheerfully said as he got up stretching. The temperature was cool, not hot or too hot, like what Isaac said, it was good for 'hitting' the beach. not a cloud in the sky, just a clear perfect sky blue.

"Ah! Too bad Castelia doesn't have a beach... just a pier- Oh wait a sec! Castelia city does indeed have a beach. Well it is kind of a small place, then again; rough Pokemon have been seen running around that darn place..."

Yamask levitated up towards Yamask and placed the bowl on top of his head like a hat, "Yaaaaaaa. Yamask!" Yamask started doing a little dance around Isaac, earning a few laughs from us.

We stayed there at that spot with our Pokemon and just played with them, they needed that. A time to just relax instead of battling most of the time. Sakura with her Pokemon played catch with a large blowup ball with the same color scheme as a normal Pokeball, not sure where they got that from, probably brought one with them after leaving home, or from an item store from a previously visited city/town.

Isaac and his Pokemon stayed sitting on the bench looking up at the sky as clouds started to appear. The bowl remained still on top of Isaac's head, despite numerous amounts of time he tried to remove it, Yamask continued to keep it on his head. As for me, i sat down on the grass among my Pokemon talking to one another, all that is except for Lugia, who just looked up towards the sky. Lugia's height was now somewhere about 3/4 the height of a regular Lugia, I didn't notice how fast it had grown these past few weeks. 

**Dewott's POV**

I didn't really want to sit there on the grass for that long, i just wanted to get out of the damned sun... fine, i just had pretty harsh headache and didn't want to admit it to anyone.

"And that is how i learnt how to swim." Totodile said impressing a somewhat overjoyed Bayleef. "Wowie, that sure sounded amazing." Bayleef smiled as Totodile's face blushed a light pink as he stumbled over making Bayleef laugh.

 _"Ugh... do you two have to do 'that' here?"_ Seeing both of them like that annoyed me again, it wasn't the first time they talked like that... i mean; not blushing at every word and nervous fall they did. It happened back in Opelucid, the very same city Bayleef evolved in.

That night, immediately after Bayleef had broken out of her shell and began to speak with us, Totodile was the only one out of all of us to start a long conversation. It started off as 'Favorite hobbies', 'Favorite food' and for some reason but randomly out of the things they have said 'Favorite cloud shape'

As we entered the next city, their relationship increased faster than a newcomer... i-i'll just say their relationship was pretty fast.

It started as encouraging one another after feeling down or to do their best in the next battle, then light teasing, then the cute talk.

Turning away from Tododile and Bayleef still laughing, i noticed how close i was to Latias. Her amber eyes glimmering under the sun... beautiful was all i could think of seeing something so beautiful before me. But thinking about it then... could it happen? Could me and Latias...

"Dewott, you feeling alright?" Latias asked as she smiled at me that. I wasn't feeling alright at all, not because of my throbbing painful headache that continued to worsen as i tried to think about these questions. "You seem quieter than usual. In Black city you spoke nonstop with us about your early years in the lab with Professor Juniper."

"I-I j-just... have a terrible headache... i'm really trying to relax as best as i can." That was a half lie. Ever since i first met Latias at the exit of Nuvema town as a little Oshawott- no... it was before that day i left Nuvema town, it was back then... uh, sorry, I'll continue with it.

I felt strange around her, every time she spoke with that soft calm and kind voice, and every time she looked at me with those beautiful eyes... was i jealous of Totodile and Bayleef's relationship? or was i envious to have a relationship with her? Is that the word, 'Envious'? Whatever, it sounded cool to say it.

"I'm sorry, i'll let you rest."

"N-no wait!" I quickly said waving my paws in front of me gaining her attention again, "I-I m-mean! I would l-like to hear you speak- i mean; i would like you to talk with me!"

"Oh, okay Dewott." She giggled softly as she ate another apple from the bowl in front of her... guess i forgot to mention she had a bowl of fruit in front of her. Then again, why is that important to mention?

Latias did most of the talking as i just sat there listening to her every word. She talked about how she first met Zack and their childhood years together in Nuvema town. Whilst we- or i was listening to Latias talk, that's when i noticed a large shadow behind me.

"Lugia! Where you listening to me story?" Latias asked the young legendary. Lugia nodded once and continued to stare at her. "Do you want to hear some more stories from my youth-"

Latias' eyes widened after she said that and clutched her head with both paws, "'In my youth?' I sound old!" Latias began to shake her head in embarrassment. She wasn't old, far from it. by the time i reached my elderly, she would still be a young adult.

"Youth?" Lugia spoke up, both of us looking up at it. How to describe Lugia's voice like other genderless Pokemon? Well, it's kind've difficult to explain... I guess it's like there is no hint of masculine or feminine in there voice. It isn't high pitched or deep, but in between the 2. As for Golurk however, it's voice is somewhat deep in masculinity... ah! Let's just say for Lugia it is a bit a both and leave it at that so i can continue with this section.

"I remember from my youth... a human looking at me." Lugia said taking the last apple from the bowl in front of Latias.

"That's Zack who you saw. He looked after your egg before you hatched."

"Who were your parents? Do you remember your parents, Latias?" Lugia asked swallowing the apple whole. Latias looked confused and somehow saddened at that question... then she started to shake suddenly, not violently, but only slightly.

"I... don't r-remember them... m-my first memory was... collapsing right outside Zack's house... i don't remember." Latias' face became slightly pale at remembering that night she met Zack.

"What about you Dewott? Do you remember your parents?" Lugia asked looking down at me, its large head blocking out the sun providing me with some shade.

"Yeah, i remember them? Why are you asking us if we remember our parents or not?" I asked Lugia raising an eye at the sudden questions about parents.

"What of Lugia's such as myself? What of other genderless Pokemon who come into existence? What of my egg i was hatched from, and how it appeared to that Pokemon egg shop until meeting Zack? Was it the will of Arceus or some other mystic legendary Pokemon yet discovered? Why do genderless exist in this world? is it to share learnt knowledge from generation to generation before we die? or is it some kind of cruel joke that the gods have made for us? Then we would be alone..."

 _"Why is Lugia talking like that for? *sighs* Of all the Lugia's we had to meet, why did we have to meet one that questions everything about life?"_ Yeah, Lugia did irritate me a little with its conversations like this, but in a way i did feel bad for it seeing as how it could not bare offspring or have a family of its own... it would be alone until it reached old age.

"You won't be alone Lugia." Latias smiled holding Lugia's large paw with her own. "I'll be with you. Latias' can live for about 500 years and Golurk's can live for 400 years. But i'm sure you'll have a lot of friends by then. You'll never be alone Lugia."

Lugia's dull stare faded as it smiled with hope at Latias.

"I guess you're right about that Latias. Years upon countless years or my life, many of my friends will not continue with me. But i will not forget them. I believe that in my long life without breeding with another; that my purpose in life is to make as many friends as i can, and tell their story for the next generation."

So what Lugia is basically saying is 'I'll watch you die while i make some new friends and do the same to them as i did to you.' What Lugia said made me think what Lugia would say about us, about me to others i will never meet in the future. What Lugia said about telling others about us made me reconsider about my future. I wanted to start a family, find a female to uh... mate with and- well i guess i didn't plan that far yet.

"Well Lugia, if you do tell others about me far into the future; don't mention that i once said 'in my youth' claw promise?" Latias held out her paw with one of her claw like fingers out front. Lugia smiled and did the same.

Lugia then looked up at each of us and our trainers as they sat beside their Pokemon, "I will remember them, and tell others about them and our journey..." Lugia looked around again but with sadness. Latias asked it, "Lugia, is something wrong?"

Lugia only shook its head and said nothing to her or anyone after that. Lugia returned to eat from the bowl in silence. Lugia remained like that in silence for the remainder of our stay here, sitting on the grass on route 16. But what Lugia didn't tell us then was that it was planning on leaving soon.

Not because it didn't like our company or anything like that, but Lugia wanted to meet new people and Pokemon exploring the many regions of the world.

* * *

 **Nimbasa City**

Just like they said before sitting down to rest at route 16; skip Nimbasa city and head straight to Castelia city, where everyone would go each our own separate ways.

I was going to miss Sakura the most for no apparent reason... what? As for 'The weird one' he's an okay guy and i wished him and his girl a good life together hoping she pulls through that heart thingy that's going on.

 _"1 hour left until we reached Castelia..."_ I thought as i held onto Zack's shoulder balancing my feet on his bag. "Maybe i could talk to Latias... about how i feel?"

* * *

 ****

 **Annihilation HQ**

There sat in his armchair Juro smiled victoriously at the many monitors hung on the wall that displayed progress on the machine he had for years built was finally nearing its end.

"Do you see this Shiny Latias?" Juro smiled as Shiny Latias approached him with an evil smile starring at the screen. "This machine is the closest thing we'll get at changing fate. Never again will the corrupted souls that is our enemy will attempt to silence us. Team Annihilation will have order and control of this planet. And no one will stop us from our plan." Shiny Latias let out a loud chuckle still starring at the screen displaying the almost complete machine.

The doors of the office opened revealing the assistant with a relaxed expression compared to the last time he stood before his boss and ally, that is Shiny Latias.

"Sir, the pods are ready for departure. By your orders, we shall commence with the attack." The assistant said standing firmly as he waited for a reply from Juro. Juro smiled and gave Shiny Latias a small pat on her head.

"Let's give Castelia city a warm reunion. Target the Saviors especially, wipe them out of Unova... forever." The assistant gave a slight nod and left the room leaving a smiling Juro and a giggling Latias.

The machine will be activated in 2 days.

99.8% Complete

To be continued...

Trivia:

Golurk was supposed to evolve in this chapter instead of chapter 31, the title of this chapter was originally called Golett's Battle.

 **AN: This chapter didn't go exactly as i had originally planned, kind of like a filler chapter if you ask me. i wanted a chapter to focus on Lugia since not a lot of chapters of the story focused on Lugia much.**


	35. Chapter 35 Attack

Chapter 35 - Attack

It began in this very city nearly half a year that I became a member of the Saviors rank 07. I started off with Oshawott evolved into a Dewott, Totodile and Latias, now have returned to the city with Bayleef, Lugia and Golurk to the team. Reiko had told us to return to the city so i could await my mission results to determine whether or not i would receive a promotion to a higher rank.

But here, me, Sakura and Isaac would be going our separate ways very soon. perhaps when we reached the Saviors building soon that's when we would decide to leave. Sakura said she would be meeting her mother here so they could return home together and discuss about going to med school... or where ever one needed to go to look after Pokemon in a center.

Isaac would be returning to Black city to gather his things from his home to move to Driftveil to work at a high paying restaurant to work off the money needed for Juliet's operation.

But i wasn't just returning for the discussion with the savior's about a promotion, i was returning to reconsider my placement within the Saviors. Ever since i had joined the Saviors, i have met and fought criminals and crazy people along with people who call me a friend. There was an owner of many buildings throughout Unova whose three sons were hospitalized and lost their career leading to the man; Jacob Carter to hunt down the one responsible and kill them.

The hunters we had met in the Desort resort not too far from Castelia, just around the corner really. We had later found out that a few of them were ex-Annihilation members, the same enemy i have met numerous times whilst escorting Chikorita to reunite with her trainer again.

Annihilation by then after me and my friends had shut down a good amount of Annihilation based buildings by now, along with defeating a lot of soldiers and imprisoning them. i was guessing they know who I am and who mattered to me by now.

I didn't want anyone i knew or some passerby to be either injured or killed because of some criminal with a past grudge against me, it was then i starter to remember the lab back in route 15.

In route 15 inside the lab we discovered that corpses where attacking the people who worked there. it was also the place that Jacob Carter called and requested that Annihilation should drop off the corpses at the lab all to take down the one who injured his sons; me. But instead he killed a few people and another Savior member out of the two who were sent there to investigate the corpses. Jacob believed the Savior member known as Mathew were the one who injured his sons.

It was then after that Mathew spoke to me and said, 'The Saviors will always look out for friends and family of a Savior member.' or something like that. It made me rethink about what i wanted and what was best for my friends, my family and of cause myself.

* * *

 **Castelia City**

After half a year away we had returned to the city as it has but returned to its original state. After the corpses had attacked the city, it has left countless buildings damaged and evacuated until the repairs were complete. About 70% of the people who lived in the apartments that were damaged left the city to find new temporarily homes until the apartment building was repaired, but as for the 30% they remained near the bridge in camps refusing to move.

Inside most of the buildings as well as the outside contained dry ash, ash from the fallen corpses that were defeated by the Savior soldiers. According to Reiko, the entire cleanup process took a month to finish.

But seeing the city again after this long, i thought it would be just another day in terms of another blue sky. A day were i could just focus on the Saviors and my friends leaving today... but it wasn't. it happened just like i first entered the city to join the Saviors.

 ***Crash!*** A large group of spear like pods had fallen from the sky, no helicopter or jet in sight. Each pod from the group had separated hitting either building or ground causing the ground to shake with each strike, like a very small earthquake.

"What the heck!?" Shouted Isaac as the pods continued to fall. About 2 pods fell onto the fountain in front of us causing the water to leak out onto the sidewalk touching our feet eventually getting into our shoes. "Aw! You freakin' kiddin' me with all this?"

The two pods opened from the center horizontally and emerged 8 reanimated corpses, 3 humanoid, and the rest flyer types soaring high into the sky, but not too far away from the 3 reanimated corpses.

"They're back!" a man shouted from the crowd as they ran away. "Mommy, daddy, *cries*" a little girl had cried out from the screaming crowd, but i didn't look back to see. From the panicked crowd, the chances of seeing the girl would've been slim.

*Gunfire* Savior soldiers fired atop of the buildings near the city's exit, something i had forgot about since i left Driftveil. The day before we left Driftveil city, Reiko had called and told me about the security that were placed throughout the city and the surrounding area. For months the city had been on high alert ever since the attack. Savior soldiers at every entrance, drones with turrets built in to help fight off any threat or invading force, in fact; the drones had existed long before the first attack on the city after a large herd of rampaging Pokemon that attacked the locals for weeks. The Saviors then devolved the drones with a built-in tranquilizer dart to stop the Pokemon.

After the rampaging Pokemon had been dealt with, the Saviors then installed a few turrets and other new features to help them fight off future enemies.

"Hey Kid!" An armed member of the Saviors called out as he ran out of a nearby building carrying an assault rifle up to us. "Y-you're Zack Raines, right?" He asked nervously, "Clark Stone has requested for you to proceed immediately to HQ. We'll fight the reanimated corpses and defend the city." The solider than ran towards the civilians leading them to safety as multiple Savior soldiers fought off the corpses as their numbers quickly decreased.

"The Saviors HQ, it's down this street right?" Isaac asked pointing towards the far right street among the 5 other streets that lead towards pier part of the city. from the left towards the right; residential, a small business section (with some cafes here and there), ally, shopping street, and business which was the street that would lead to the Saviors building. "Well c'mon, let's get going!"

And so we ran down the street that would lead us right outside the Saviors building, a street that lead towards the city's defense would obviously be surrounded by soldiers and turret drones (which were a lot of them) but that didn't mean there were short of reanimated corpses emerging from a random building entrance, window or 2.

We were now at halfway point of the street, bags, dropped phones, and a few ice cream cones from the abandoned ice cream vendor not long ago now covered in dry ash. The street was almost clear of the remaining corpses as most of the soldiers had fought them off. Both Sakura, Isaac and Dewott who instead jumped off my shoulder to defend us while we ran should a random corpse or more showed up, they ran a little ahead of me. It was a brief glance, a small glance at the corner of my right eye at a random ally between a cafe and a small restaurant.

A lone humanoid reanimated corpse towered above a smaller Pokemon hiding behind a few boxes. The corpse attempted numerous times to strike at the smaller Pokemon, but when it did, the Pokemon was thrown out of the ally and into the street. As i stopped running, i turned back to the small Pokemon that was attacked and ran over to it before the corpse approached.

As i knelt down to the injured Pokemon, the Pokemon's eyes teared up, either it was from fear of the corpse or a random human approaching, or its injuries which were only a small cut on its head. The Pokemon to my surprise was an Oshawott, a shiny Pokemon to be precise with a pink bow atop its head, so i'm guessing it was a female Oshawott then.

The small Oshawott looked up at me briefly before it quickly turned its attention to the corpse that was standing staring right at us. Sakura, Dewott and Isaac stopped running any further and ran back to us, slightly startling the Oshawott.

"Dewott Dew!" Dewott stood between us and the corpse positioning himself ready to attack the corpse. I then quickly grabbed Latias' Pokeball and released her to assist Dewott with the corpse. Latias appeared alongside Dewott and waited for a command.

The corpse growled as it ran up to the two Pokemon. "Dewott' Hydro pump. Latias hold the corpse with Psychic! Don't let it escape." Latias immediately used Psychic holding the corpse in place. Dewott then used Hydro pump at the corpse inflicting a high amount of damage on it, causing small parts from its body to disintegrate, mostly the chest area.

"Dragon claw, Latias. Dewott, use Hydro pump once more!" Dewott reused Hydro pump on the corpse still in place immediately after Latias stopped using Psychic. Latias charged forward towards the corpse and used Dragon claw impaling the corpse through its chest, defeating it as its entire body turned to ash.

"You alright there Zack?" Isaac asked as he approached us along with Sakura and my Pokemon. "Yeah, i'm alright."

The Oshawott was now clutching onto my leg eyes tightly shut. Cautiously i placed my hand on its head and said gently, "Its alright, it's safe now." The Oshawott looked up at me and then at the others. It looked back where the corpse was, only to find a large pile of ash and nothing more.

Latias levitated down towards the small Oshawott reaching out her paw to touch her shoulder asking if she was alright. The Oshawott smiled and nodded once at Latias and Dewott as he stood next to Latias.

The Oshawott sighed and hugged my leg again smiling as it waved before returning to the ally where 2 larger or average sized Oshawotts stood waiting for its young to return to them.

"She said 'Thank you' How nice, huh?" Isaac said as the three Oshawotts had vanished around the corner of the ally. Isaac explained that a lot of Pokemon within Castelia were wild Pokemon either left by their previous trainers, or they decided to live here from the nearby forest. A lot of Pokemon within the city but not all of them were in gangs, i mean; Pokemon only gangs, the dangerous kind that hurt others, that robbed food from buildings, cafes and restaurants mostly, anywhere there is food. Seeing those three Pokemon especially that smaller Oshawott, i hoped they would be alright in the city.

* * *

 **Castelia City - The Saviors HQ - Basement Level 03 - Training VR Room**

The run up to the Saviors building was uneventful, so i decided to skip that. Upon entering the building however, we were told to take the stairs to the the basement level 03 Training room where we were told it would be safer for us to meet up with Clark Stone.

In the room were mostly Savior soldiers, Savior medics and a few other staff members stationed at several computers. Reiko was helping out by assisting the soldiers out in the city. Lee however was nowhere to be seen, but Claire and Billy where here talking to one another.

Everyone in the room briefly stopped at what they were doing when the door of the room opened. Clark Stone had entered followed by 6 armed soldiers and two drones levitating above.

Clark walked over to Reiko leaving the armed soldiers at the door "Reiko, how are the soldiers handling the reanimated corpse situation around the city?"

"Enemies within the city have significantly decreased. There have been no casualties from either solider or citizens reported so far. Citizens are now being relocated to a safe location until the threat has ceased."

"Excellent, keep up the good work." Clark now walked towards us and sighed as he stopped.

"Zack, i... i hate to be the bearer of bad news, *sighs*" He stood there with a frowning at the wooden floor between us. For some reason, all of the sounds within the room had fell silent. Then Clark looked up at me again and told me, he told me something i had feared... something i didn't want to hear.

"Last night... we received word from... T-team-... Team Annihilation. They kidnapped your mother Ayaka, and your sister Yuri from your hometown in Nuvema town."

"W-what? H-how"

"We do not know. It wasn't just your family who have been taken, but other members of the Saviors relatives have been kidnapped also." Clark said as he looked over at a few members of the Saviors working on their own computers working alongside Reiko. "The people working beside Reiko here... they work elsewhere. They want to help out in anyway they can to find Annihilation and their families."

Clark placed his hand on my shoulder, "Zack, you and your friends get some rest. we'll talk soon." Before i could ask to help out, Sakura stepped forward and said,

"Wait, uh sir? I need to know if my mother is alright. She was supposed to meet me here in the city. I have to know if she is alright"

Clark faced her and gave her a small nod, "Go to the safe room with Zack, we'll find out what happened to you mother as fast as we can."

* * *

 **Castelia City Saviors HQ - Basement LV01 - Safe room**

The safe room was a small room that consisted of 4 separate beds on all 4 corners of the room. at the top of the room opposite the door was the small fridge full of small bottles of water, and large unopened boxes of unknown food.

After about 2 hours of waiting in this small room, we had found out from a Savior soldier that Sakura's mother was one of 27 people found injured during the attack. Thankfully, no one was killed by the corpses, but the return of them in the city had caused a panic fearing another attack would soon follow.

Sakura was now lying down on one of the beds with minccino sitting down beside her head. She stared up at the ceiling ever since. Isaac was sitting down in front of the opened small fridge with Dewott opening a few of the boxes eating the food which were cubed, edible blue... things? I think Isaac mentioned that was some kind of blueberry flavor or something.

I however was sitting on the bed deep in thought. I was thinking about my mom and sister, where they were, if they were safe. My mind then started playing moments in my life with them, from happy moments... to sad ones. Seeing my dad for as little as a month per year since i was kid, i didn't want to lose them... i had to find them, somehow.

Standing up to walk out of the door with Dewott quickly following behind, Sakura spoke up after sitting up, "Zack, where are you going?"

"I can't stay here, not when my mom and sister are out there still. I gotta go after them..."

Sakura stood up from the bed, "I want to go to, my mom was... she was hurt because of those monsters."

Isaac stood up from the fridge and sighed, "I'll come to, after all; the Desert resort won't be a pleasant stroll... and you'll need a Pokemon translator in case you run into a few or herd." Isaac nervously chuckled after he said that earning a few laughs, except Dewott who sighed slightly as he climbed up onto my shoulder.

And so we had a plan; After spending one last night in the safe room we set out the next day early in the morning for Nuvema town to find anything useful we could use to find my mom and my sister, a clue even.

Little did we know; we would find them quicker than we thought, not just my mom and my sister, but Team Annihilation.

* * *

...

...Today, the machine would be active...

...The Fate of the world would be decided...

...Hurry!

To be continued...

Trivia

Originally i had the attack set in Nuvema town were zack found out that his parents were kidnapped and finding his house on fire.

 **AN: And that's chapter 35 everyone, gotta say; it was a little tedious to type up as with my previous chapters these past few weeks. But i am trying my best to write this story and i hope to improve in the future.**

 **Well uh, thanks for reading the chapter and hope ya'll read the next few chapters or next. Until next time.**


	36. Chapter 36 Activation

Chapter 36 - Activation 

**Annihilation HQ - The White Room**

"Traitors will always be punished." An unknown voice from a man as he whispered with a smug look on his face. Aiming a gun right at me, followed by a loud banging noise, then nothing afterwards. This was from a dream back in Nuvema town, on they day i first left to join the Saviors, why was i thinking about that now in this place covered with blood, my blood. It was too painful to move, let alone cry for help.

The only one with me within this large white room was Dewott trying to stop the bleeding on a deeply open wound on my right leg. It was silent in that room, i couldn't hear anything, my hearing was fine... but i couldn't hear for some reason.

My vision was blurry, but i knew it was only me and Dewott in the white room. How long had i been here bleeding in this room? I asked myself but received no answer. Closing my eyes now, Dewott called out again, it was slightly audible, all the pain from my eyes had eased momentarily as i shut them.

The dream... The corpses... why i had not yet died during my journey...

...and why Latias and i met that night right outside my house, everything was all Team Annihilation.

 **Route 01 - 2 hours Prior**

We were so close to Nuvema town now, it was just a 5 minute walk away where we would search for any kind of clue to find Team Annihilation. About 3 hours ago we had left Castelia city during the early hours of the morning.

The Saviors right about now would've contacted me as to where i was, if i had the device switched on. I needed to know if my mom and sister were alright, despite the orders from the Saviors for me to stay in Castelia city... i couldn't stay. I suppose if anyone's family member had been kidnapped or had gone missing, i'm pretty sure they would do whatever they could to find them, this was my way of finding them. i guess i didn't care about the consequences anymore... perhaps i thought it was the last thing i did with the Saviors. The last rule breaker if you would call it that.

 _"It's been a while since i last saw Nuvema town. I highly doubt it's any different than it was before i left."_ The town was just right around the corner, just a few more steps and the first few buildings would be seen through the large trees surrounding the town.

Would we find anything in Nuvema town i thought? I hoped we would, if we didn't then i wouldn't know what i would do...

Minccino resting in Sakura's arms suddenly shot up and glanced over at a small bush off the routes dirt path causing Sakura to flinch a little at Minccino's sudden movement.

"Minccino, what is it?" Sakura asked all of us stopping to see what was wrong. Dewott from my shoulder shook my head lightly and yelled out, "DEW!"

"Ah! W-what?..." Isaac groaned as he touched his neck pulling out a small dart. Isaac's face became pale as he knelt down to the ground. "Whuahuha?..." (It sounded like that... almost.)

"Minccino! Hey s-stay with me!" Minccino had been shot with the same looking dart that hit Isaac's neck and closed her eyes within Sakura's arms. Dewott had jumped down from my shoulder trying to run up to whoever was shooting the darts at us, but before his feet touched the ground, another dart had shot his stomach.

Touching the ground, Dewott tried to stand and run at the attackers, but he collapsed face down on the dirt path.

Both me and Sakura had been shot at with the darts. Sakura on her arm, and my chest for me. It was a strange feeling as whatever was in the dart was making me feel at first lightheaded, dizzy i guess... i think i felt a slight headache for some reason.

My vision started to blur, greenery from the trees and the sky from looking up started to smudge, like a painting. My hearing... i couldn't hear anything, i didn't hear Sakura as she called out to me, or when she fell to the ground still holding Minccino within her arms.

And i never heard the sinister laughs from our attackers as they approached us, everything faded to a black silent nothing.

 **Unknown Location - Feeling a sense of nostalgia**

I was suddenly standing in a small room with toys, many toys like small racing cars, plastic little mini army figures with their own weapon or set of binoculars, and plush toys of the three starters from the Kanto region all scattered around the room.

The room had a small wooden without any curtains around it allowing me to see outside. Only large pine trees surrounding a backyard covered in snow.

"Snow? But its August almost..."

 ***Creek*** Suddenly, the door behind me opened slowly revealing a little girl wearing pink pajama's holding a small Teddiursa plush toy close to her face. Her red hair was short and up to her neck, it was spiky kind of like mine.

"Did you sleep well?" She asked slowly entering the room and sitting down beside a few army figurines and toy cars. "I couldn't not after the storm yesterday."

"None of us could, princess." A man appeared at the door leaning on it smiling at the girl now playing with the toys in front of her. "It was pretty rough, but thankfully, nothing was seriously damaged."

My Initial thought; I didn't know who these people were or why i was in this room in the first place. They didn't seem hostile or threatening in a way, they seemed like ordinary everyday people really. But for an odd reason... it was as if i knew them, like they were old friends from a young age.

"You sleep well kiddo?" The man looked up at me smiling. "All of us were worried, ya know because of the storm, you were frightened by it, and i mean pretty terrified if you ask me." The little girl looked up at the man with a big grin across her face.

"Yeah, but mommy has the worst scream." The man who i assumed was the father laughed alongside her. I just stood there in silence watching the 2 as they laughed together. Why didn't i say anything or attempt to walk out of the room not knowing if they would let me?

Suddenly, the laughing slowly stopped as the young girl resumed to play with the toys pretending that her plush toy was real, giving it a high pitched voice. "Ya know kiddo?" The man said sighing as he looked out the room, "I'm pretty sure you'll be alright- no! You will be. Wake up Zack, you have to wake up." and i did.

 **Team Annihilation HQ - The White Room**

"What?" I quickly shot up after waking to find myself, Dewott and Latias beside me together in a large white room. The floor, wall, and ceiling were made out of some kind of material, tile i think it was, it reminded me of the bathroom from my house.

Another thing about this room was there were no door or window in sight. What was odd about this room was there was no source of light, no light bulb or small hole on the ceiling... it must've been one of those floor, wall, and ceiling lights then.

"W-where are the others?" I asked the 2, both of them shook their heads and continued to look around the room again. As the room became silent once more, all of us were startled as loud static echoed throughout the room until we heard laughter.

"Welcome to Team Annihilation my friends, and now we can begin with this." The man on the speakers chuckled slightly as he cleared his throat.

"Who am i you may ask? Who is it that is speaking to you now when you are trapped within that room with something so dangerous, just one button press and a command... blood will be painted all of that white room?"

"My name is... everyone within Annihilation calls me and my enemies... Juro. I am the leader and founder of Team Annihilation, and i have brought all of you here to in a way... discover somethings... a jolt if you will. I could've killed you three as you approached Nuvema town recently... but i wanted this to be the better way to end your life."

* * *

 **Team Annihilation HQ - Cells - Isaac's POV**

It was just me, old Yamask, Fiery Growlithe, and shocking the Ampharos... (ugh why did i say that. Please delete that starting section.)

It was just me and my Pokemon sitting in this rusty old cell just... waiting for whatever or whoever to show up and yell about what we did wrong and such or another random crazy group with their own reasons for us being in here.

Yep, i was right... Team Annihilation. About 2 of their goons entered from one of the doorways armed each with a pistol in hand stopping right outside the cell we where locked up inside.

"Hey stupid boy!" One of the goons yelled at me... didn't know which one of the 2 said it, but what that guy said, it irritated me to the point my teeth hurt after the harsh gritting. "Get up and outta that cell with your Pokemon. You comin' with us!"

After unlocking the cell, the guard grabbed me by the arm and pulled me out with my Pokemon following close behind me. "Where are my friends?" I asked, no reply as we walked away from the cells. "Answer me you freaking-"

The guard that was grabbing my armed quickly turned around and aimed his gun at my head. "You'd best be quiet now lad, or else you be gettin' a broken nose from me. Now shut up and keep walkin'!"

In moments like this... i guess high school was the best example for when a bully would try to act big in front of his other 'friends' when approaching a so-called 'weaker' victim, usually me; i would stand my ground and/or run like hell if i had to. I hated being in situations like that... it made me feel as if the world was pushing me off a cliff in a way i guess would be a good example. Whenever i reached the top feeling safe, the ground would collapse and i fall either all the way to the bottom, or clinging onto a rock or large root from the cliff wall.

I guess what i am trying to say is; i have felt like that for a long time really, a struggler... ah, okay enough with that!

It was only a quick walk from the cell to this larger cage like cell in the middle of a white room. The cage door opened and all of us were pushed inside. Not long before we were pushed in, a very loud static echoed followed by a man laughing before he spoke.

"Isaac Anderson, Welcome to Annihilation HQ my boy. I am Juro, leader of Team Annihilation. I have brought you and your friends here today to... well to end your lives for good whilst i change this world."

"Hey, old man; you better let us out of this rusty cage or else i'll tear off your head times 2!"

"Really then? Try all you must, but i think you should turn your attention to this one i have that within a few seconds from now will emerge appearing to you." Just a few seconds after he said that, from the center of the cage like Juro had said the floor opened up revealing a reanimated corpse spitting up and gurgling as it stood there waving its arms back and forth.

"Okay you son of a bitch, just watch us take out another stupid-" I just stood there as i stared at the corpse.

I wanted to cry... scream? To fall knees first at the sudden realization.

"I... I can't... it can't be..." A tear then fell from my eye as i looked into the lifeless eyes of her, of Juliet.

"Why now... Why couldn't i just live in that moment just for a little longer?" Looking back up at Juliet as a corpse... her skin had already decayed, rotting flesh now exposed on most of her body.

In Black city not too long ago, I told Zack and Sakura that i was going to see Juliet at the hospital, but i never did go inside that building, inside the room Juliet was in a year ago. Me seeing her in the hospital was nothing more than a memory from the last week i spent with her.

True she did have a heart condition, and she needed money for an operation... but a day after her death, i refused to believe she had died. I set myself with a task; earn enough money to save Juliet's life. I came close at some moments within the year, but never too close. I refused to believe she was dead, most of the time i believed she was still alive waiting for me with the money to come and save her.

Our years together at school were the best i could ever ask for. We started off as strangers in a library, to being friends, and being together as a couple... she helped me ever since my grandmother had died before the end of high school.

My Pokemon stood in front of me as the cor- Juliet- or whatever it was running at us screaming. Yamask looked back at me with sadness in his eyes. I in turn just looked away, i refused to see this thing any longer, i didn't want my last thoughts of Juliet to be of this.

I must've looked really pathetic in front of my Pokemon, refusing to believe his girlfriend was still alive instead of facing the truth like all the others who knew her. And for the longest time, i just stayed in that spot with my eyes closed, i felt empty,... i felt dead.

* * *

 **Team Annihilation HQ Cells - Sakura's POV**

For the past hour, Golurk had been punching the cage bars nonstop in attempts to dent the bars or loosen on of them allowing the smaller Pokemon to crawl right through, but to no avail. I was surprised at despite Golurk continuously punching the metal bars for an hour, not a single guard came to investigate the noise.

I already knew who it was who had locked us up in here, Team Annihilation. A guard from before arrived wearing an Annihilation suit and headgear leaving his identity and appearance a mystery to us. The only thing he said to me was 'Soon, we'll be ready for you.' After standing up off the dirty cell floor, i rushed over to the cell bars pleading for the guard to let us go, but of cause he didn't. The guard just scoffed at me and walked away enraging Golurk to attack the bars over and over.

 _'Ready for you.' What did they mean by that,_ I thought staring at a small puddle as a drop of what i assumed to be water dripping from a leaking pipe above us. Where the others there where they would be taking us? I had asked myself multiple times fearing for my life. I had hoped they would, meaning; i had hoped they where alright and they had some kind of plan to escape from this place.

* * *

 **Team Annihilation HQ - The White Room Normal POV**

"Why don't i just kill you? Why not just pull the trigger myself and let you Pokemon fight an endless amount of Annihilation Robotics until they either collapse of lack of energy allowing the robotics to kill them, or some other humane way of ending their lives?" Juro spoke into the microphone, his voice echoed somewhat loudly into the white room we where still locked up inside.

"Because i feel that i should reveal some things to you, before ending your lives, it would've been much better than just pulling the trigger without reason."

We stayed there waiting for Juro to speak again, we stayed there in silence a couple pf more seconds until he spoke again.

"That Latias who has its head on top of your lap, how did such a legendary Pokemon from Hoenn come to you? About 6 six years, i had finally completed on creating an army of a thousand corpses for Team Annihilation. One day, my team discovered a large family of Pokemon within the Unova region, and one family... was Latias' its parents were captured and we brought it in."

Latias then attempted to hide her head under my shirt, but she kept one eye and ear free as if as she wanted to hear more about her origin.

"The female which was the Latias' mother was pregnant upon capture. So seeing as how a legendary birth was rare, we waited for a few weeks, until the birth of not one, but two Latias' hatched from their eggs a regular red Latias, and a Shiny one,"

Latias perked her head up slightly but still shaking, her mouth dropped as her eyes teared up.

"A year of training our new Pokemon so they would become good enough soldiers for the reanimated corpse program. One night, all of the Pokemon banded together to fight their way out of their cages, freeing themselves from the base. The Latias' parents were killed during the escape along with other worthy Pokemon i would've liked to see among our ranks." Juro chuckled to himself loudly.

"And then after escaping, we discovered the Latias had found its way to you. Pure chance, a pure chance that the two of you would meet up. A boy from Nuvema town meeting a Latias who escaped from Annihilation. All of your life you have always been a part of Annihilation, your childhood, your current years... why is that?"

"Why do corpses follow our orders? It is because of a chip we planted inside their heads before activation. Just one switch of a button and a simple command... they do whatever we want them to do. Your Latias however had a chip planted inside its head, and still does. And i can easily activate her to do whatever i want... even order her to kill you or that Dewott without a second thought. Latias like the others was originally supposed to be killed immediately after and becoming a corpse, but it escaped."

Latias returned back to me and hugged me tighter refusing to let go as she cried. "You're wrong!" I shouted at him, "You are not in control of Latias, she doesn't have a chip inside her head!"

"Believe what you want boy, but the truth will be shown soon. Maybe then you'll listen int he end."

"Your family back in Nuvema town, their last name is not Raines, it is Amano. Now, why did you claim your last name was Raines instead of Amano? A memory emerging from that dead mind of yours, boy? The Raines family was once people i knew whent hey were still alive."

"But they betrayed me when i asked them a simple favor, i needed there help, but they refused and tried to stop me. But i killed everyone of them, including you boy."

"What? That's impossible, i didn't die." I protested at what Juro had said. Juro then continued.

"You were once, Your family were among the first hundred to become reanimated corpses, but you... you were a failure. One of thousands i have created to become the first to be revived."

 _"The dream, that man and little girl in that house... that couldn't be th- wait, why am i believing any of this?"_

"So instead of killing you again, we decided instead to keep you alive for further studying. Things became interesting when Latias appeared on your doorstep. And of cause, you joining the Saviors. That chip we installed into the Latias as i mentioned earlier, we removed yours not wanting that chip to interfere with your other life."

"I'm finished with you already. Now Latias, look at your beloved trainer for the last time." Juro said as Latias covered her ears shaking her head refusing to listen to him.

"Latias, Program: Project 01, Activate." Latias' tight hug ceased and her arms fell to her side. Latias' eyes closed. "Now Latias, open your eyes and stare at Zack Raines directly."

Latias opened her eyes slowly and looked up at me. her eyes, they looked lifeless, they were in a way, void of any color. "Latias..." I whispered holding her paw. There was a slight tear leaking from her eye, was it before or after this so-called activation which i didn't believe then, was she aware of any of this i wondered?

"Hurt him, make him suffer!" I didn't feel it at first, probably because of how fast the attack was. I was suddenly struck with both of Latias' claws as she scratched me across the face. Before i could groan in pain or attempt to stop Latias, she attacked me again, but with her Psychic strangling me.

"Dewott! Dew! Dewott!" Dewott pulled on Latias' paw and tried to snap her out, but was ignored as she resumed to focus the attack on me. Dewott tried again, but instead he used his scalchop to stop her.

"Latias, prevent the Dewott from interfering!" Juro finished the order and Latias immediately held Dewott up by the neck with Psychic and continued to attack.

From where i was lying on the ground, face now bleeding, Dewott called out trying to convince Latias to stop. Everything was so slow, from every strike dealt to me with her claws and psychic attacks. I thought i was going to die with each strike... but it didn't.

I was in so much pain, Latias had scratched into my flesh deeply, mostly on my legs, and a large scratch across my chest. The attacks continued, until Juro spoke into the microphone again.

"Latias, cease the attacks. Drop the Dewott tot he ground and leave for the doors. Let him bleed to death. I'll return you to this room after the machine is activated, which won't be too long from now." Latias let go of Dewott and levitated towards a set of doors hidden on the wall.

Another Latias, a Shiny one appeared at the door smiling as she watched her sister staring blankly ahead. Shiny Latias gave off an evil grin as she looked at what her sister had done just now and laughed before leaving.

Dewott knelt down beside me shaking me lightly calling out to me... but for some reason, i couldn't hear him, let alone look up at him as my eyes closed, too painful to remain open any longer.

With that, i mouthed out with no voice, "Why?... Latias..." Then everything to black.

* * *

 **Team Annihilation HQ - The Machine Room**

Juro now standing in front of a machine that was once incomplete, today was the day it was finally finished. Juro stood there with a tear in his eyes with joy and relief as this machine, a machine that would change the world was finally complete.

He activated the machine, and it worked. 10 years of waiting and trying, the machine was fully operational, and the world was doomed not because of Juro. But because of one thing he overlooked; The machine would kill all living beings on the planet, it was too powerful to be controlled by him or anyone in the world. Juro, unnoticed by this or this scientists cheering around him, it would be his downfall.

The fate of the world was in the hands of us.

To be continued...

Special Message: 03/03

Subject Raines

To-Clark Stone

From-Tai Kurosawa

Time-4:34 AM

Date-June 12

Clark

I did some digging and i have found out some interesting information about this Zack Raines kid, (sounds familiar somehow.)... and here is the data from Team Annihilation's file:

Zack Raines

Birth-November 20th 2005

Death-May 20th 2009

Age-04 (Age of Death)

Gender -Male

Hair-Black

Eye-Blue

What the hell is this Clark? Did you even realize that you had a kid who has been dead for 11 years? Who knows, this kid might even be a Team Annihilation agent and yet you let him join and walk inside the Savior HQ. Heck, he isn't obviously this Zack Raines guy, just someone who stole this kids name.

How much does the kid know about us? Top secret information I mean?

The best thing to do is to assassinate the kid before he becomes a threat to us. Annihilation members are not to be trusted. He may seem like a kid to you, but underneath may be an Annihilation spy, the same kind that killed your wife.

Either you fix this or i will.

END OF MESSAGE


	37. Chapter 37 The Fate of the World

Chapter 37 - The Fate of the World

* * *

 **Team Annihilation HQ – The White Room -** **Isaac Anderson's POV**

With one last strike from... hmm, I guess I never asked which one of my Pokemon dealt the finishing blow to the thing that used to be Juliet, her body disintegrated leaving only a large pile of ash.

The more I looked at the remains of that monster, the more I believed that Juliet was in there somewhere, before my Pokemon defeated it. I mean, what if Juliet could've been saved? What if that my false mindset I created that she; Juliet, was still alive looking for a way to be saved by that heart condition she had before death... what if this was a way she could've been saved from any heart condition? If I had prevented this corpse from attacking, we could've looked for a way to undo what had been done.

But what if there wasn't a way to undo all of this? Would it have been harder to do it later? Then letting her go... it would've been difficult.

"Isaac, Are you alright?" Growlithe asked, looking up at him, and my Pokemon standing with me.

"We have to escape from here and find the others," Ampharos took a step closer to me resting her paw on top of my head, "Please Isaac, we need you."

"Uh... y-yeah but, how can we get out of this cage?" I asked any one of them as i took one last glance at the ash piled behind the Pokemon.

"Don't sweat about it," Yamask smiled before removing its mask. "All i can do to overcome a row of metal bars is to just levitate right thought them and pilfer the keys the guards will probably most likely have... maybe."

Yamask's form slowly faded as he levitated over towards the entrance of this white room we were trapped inside. After a few short moments of silence and waiting, Yamask reappeared beside me with a set of keys.

After trying one key after the other, (26 keys... that's how many.) I finally reached the 14th key and unlocked the cage... now to do the same for the white room's door unless it's already unlocked.

Running to the white door i begged not to have to shuffle through the set of keys, _"Please don't make me do it again. C'mon man."_

Did I have to try with the white door like i did with the cages? You got that right... and it was the last key to use out of the set. *Sighs*... I hated those set of keys, wonder why they didn't use a key card or something?

With the door now unlocked and opened by me, i glanced out to find that the guards had already been defeated, knocked out by Yamask with broken shards of a pot, a flower pot to be precise.

 _"Where does he get these pots from? Whatever, I'll save that for later,"_ The coast was clear, but we weren't out of the woods just yet. We needed to find the others and get the hell out of this joint.

"Alright," I turned to the others standing close by me ready to defend from the enemy or to fight. "Let's go."

Out of the two ways I could've gone down this corridor, I wondered where it would take us. Would it lead us away from our friends, towards them, or maybe towards the enemy? It was risky, but for some reason I wasn't afraid of them, Team Annihilation or those corpses anymore. Was I just filled with determination on finding my friends, a way out? Did I just not care anymore about the dangers; I was used to it in a way? Or did I not care about my life anymore?

* * *

 ****

 **Team Annihilation HQ - The White Room 02/03 - Sakura's POV**

Zack's and my Pokemon were brought into a large white room with me for about 10 minutes now just waiting for whatever reason they brought us in for. As they were shoving us into this white room, i think i overheard one of the guards standing guard beside one set of doors talking about some kind of machine that was just 'finished' or 'fixed' not sure which word was said, but they quickly hushed as we approached.

"Greetings Miss Sakura Kanai, i am glad you could make it here." The speakers had activated, a man's voice echoed throughout the entire room, I didn't recognize it. "Your case is... interesting in a way. Not the kind of thing you'd bring up in a conversation."

"My name is Juro, i am the leader of Team Annihilation. You see, your friend Zack Raines during his career within the Saviors has caused a lot of damage to my group... n-no, not just him, but you and that blonde delusional idiot boy who claims his girlfriend is still alive."

"W-what? I-Isaac's- but Juliet is alive, Isaac said-"

"Oh, he 'Said' did he? There was never a Juliet within Black city Hospital this week or last month, she had been dead a year before you met up with the boy." I didn't respond to that, it was a lot to take in; I didn't know if i believed it. He was a member of Annihilation- their leader that is.

"And that's not all about your friends, *chuckles* it would seem that your friend Zack Raines died when he was 4 years old. He was revived by us by mistake during the reanimated corpses program. And right about now, he is bleeding to death by non-other than his precious Latias controlled by me ever since it escaped from us when it was young." He continued...

"And what about you Sakura Kanai? Why the counselling at a young age? Why did you hate that man known as your father? He abused you and your mother right?"

Remembering how my mother was harmed during the attack in Castelia city...i hated them, i hated how they hurt those people and my mother that day. I stood up and shouted. "You! You hurt my mother during that attack in the city! She could've died because of you! Show yourself!" Gritting my teeth at the silence that slowly followed, i waited for Juro to either laugh or make some snide comment.

"Interesting anger my dear, but which person on this planet do you harbor the most anger for?" Without warning, a small section of the center of the room opened up and out came a man knelt down, hands tied behind his back with what looked like he had a sack over his head with a small piece of string attached to it.

"Me, who has done nothing but attempt at altering this filthy world? Or is it that man with a sack over his head? Jacob Carter, the very same man who you and your mother were beaten day in and day out." The string pulled and the sack revealed like Juro Said; Jacob Carter, but he wasn't in a way himself, he was a reanimated corpse.

Still in his same appearance as he looked from when i last saw him, when i was young. He still wore the same outfit he wore whenever he had to go to 'work' or so he called it. I'm not sure what he did for a living besides hurting us, i never saw him around my hometown whenever he left. Perhaps i thought that he went to another town or city to either earn money in some illegal way, or maybe he had a normal career... who knows.

"He wasn't exactly easy to find within a month. It took some time and a lot of our intelligence agents to go out and find this man, holed up surrounded by empty bottles and trash in a rundown apartment in some petty corrupted city."

"Now, i am afraid our conversation will have to be put on hold. I am a little busy for the moment. Happy reunions… Sakura." The speakers shut off. The corpse once Jacob Carter stood effortlessly up despite its broken shins. Maybe Team Annihilation built in some kind of protective armor in their bodies; most reanimated corpses we have encountered on our journey, their bodies were either hanging by a bone or torn to shreds.

All of my Pokemon stood with Zack's Pokemon in front of me ready to fight the reanimated corpse standing there growling as it twitched its head back and forth, until it ran right towards us.

If it were Jacob Carter as he was still alive running at us like this corpse was, could i give the command to kill him after what he did to us? N-no... i couldn't. After everything he did to me and my mother, i would rather see him locked up than give him a quick death, but since he was a corpse now, a being far from returning to its original state, far from being the man he once was, I'd gladly end its life.

* * *

 ****

 **12 Minutes later**

Jacob Carter's reanimated corpse was defeated, dead. His body turned to ash leaving a huge pile on the white tile floor. It wasn't a long battle, a few strikes from the Pokemon and it was down within seconds. A little part of me... almost, kind of wanted the battle to last longer than a few seconds. The other part of me was glad it was over. It left me feeling unsatisfied about it all.

But a thought came at seeing the pile of ash on the floor; ' _Jacob Carter would never harm us again. The constant fear of his return was now gone. Mom... it's over, w-we're free...'_

Suddenly, the door of the white room burst open as Isaac and his Pokemon entered the room with other people and Pokemon following closely behind. Yamask however was carrying a flower pot looking as if he was about to strike someone with, then again; Isaac did mention on a few occasions that Yamask did attack people who threatened Isaac and his friends with a flower pot he obtains from Arceus knows where.

"Sakura, hey, are you alright?" He asked gasping for breath after running that short distance from the door of the room to the center where we were. "Man, after 7 other cells we finally managed to find you."

Looking over Isaac's shoulder, i saw the people that Isaac had rescued; an elderly man and woman stood crying as they embraced one another. 3 young children age 8-12, 2 men covered in cuts across their faces and chest area, had Team Annihilation hurt them or did the two had a fight prior to Isaac finding them, the two didn't seem to get close to one another, in fact one of the men was frowning slightly. And finally was a middle aged woman holding a young girl in her arms crying.

"Isaac, what about Zack, did you find him?" I asked as he looked up at me shaking his head slightly.

"We looked, *huff* b-but we didn't find him. Luckily we evaded all of the soldiers guarding the freakin' place, room and corridor... nothing."

"Since there are more of us, we have a better chance at finding him plus defending ourselves from the enemy." At that, Minccino cheered as she stood carefully on my head. Isaac glanced over at the ash pile near the corner of the room.

"W-was that... another one of those corpses?" Isaac asked not sure if he wanted to even ask that.

"Yes... some I- he was my s-stepfather..." I stared at pile of ash again.

"I uh... I'm sorry for your lose..."

"Don't be, he was a horrible man. He put both me and my mom through hell for years..." Isaac quickly scratched his head and shifted his eyes away from the pile of ash.

"He always hurt my mom frequently... but me, he always hurt me on rainy days, i don't know why he did it..." I was tearing up, but Isaac walked close to me and hugged me, then i let my emotions overcome me.

"I was lying the whole time, to you, to Zack... even myself." He pushed away slightly, but still held me. "Juliet was... she was dead long before we met up. *sniff* man, i must look like some kind of idiot, huh?"

Shaking my head I pulled him closer, "No, you're not. You didn't want Juliet to die, you loved her."

"I di- I mean, I still do... but, i have to accept the fact that she can rest in peace now..." Isaac looked up sadly at the white ceiling, and then he looked down at me and smiled, "Let's find Zack and get the heck outta here!"

* * *

 ****

 **Team Annihilation HQ - The White Room - Normal POV**

I regained consciousness still that white room with Dewott sitting beside me. My attempts to speak were unsuccessful as i felt a painful burning sensation inside and on my throat. I forgot about that; Latias had struck me with her claws against my neck. I thought at that attack that this was it, the final attack that would kill me, but luckily the cut wasn't too deep otherwise i wouldn't be waking up in that room again.

The rest of my body, my arms, my legs, and my chest were covered in cuts, not anything fatal... they just hurt badly.

I was surprised that i didn't die, maybe while Latias was being controlled by Juro, she held back or something, trying to resist maybe. After struggling to stand up, Dewott noticed me trying to stop me from moving since small amounts of blood began to drip from my open wounds. The pain suddenly kicked in again, this time more extreme to the point where I cried out in pain halting my movement slightly.

"D-De-w-w... Do-door... gah!" My throat hurt, it felt like i had a sore throat, the worst ever. I was trying to tell Dewott to get to the door of this room and try to escape if could. Dewott gave a slight nod seeming to understand me. He walked close to me and helped me walk/crawl to the door.

It was a painful attempt to reach the door of the room, but we made it in the end as Dewott activated his Razor Shell move and began slashing at the door.

With each slash dealt to the door, no damage was visible, not a small scratch or even a dent, but Dewott continued trying with every strike to damage the door freeing us from this room.

About a couple of more minutes now, Dewott was tiring out still continuously striking the door still undamaged. The pain throughout my body fell, but my throat still hurt the most.

 _"Maybe Latias did strike my throat worst than i thought."_ Lightly touching my throat on which i regret on touching as i felt a massive bolt of pain in my neck that i almost choked. Dewott stopped striking at the door and ran up to me.

"Dewott, Dew!" Before i could look up at him, the door of the room opened with an alarm echoing beyond the room. The speakers from outside i could pick up were;

"Prisoners have escaped! All security personnel sweep areas through E, D, E, and F. Shoot to kill permission granted." This played another few times until the alarm was the only thing that echoed in that white room. Standing up slightly and limping towards the corridor with Dewott to defend me, we walked hoping to find Juro so we could end this.

* * *

 ****

 **Team Annihilation HQ - The Machine - Control Room**

It wasn't long until we found this room, a large room full of computers, machines with different colored lights and monitors all displaying some kind of coding and text. Peeking a lot closer there was a loud roaring from countless corpses over the railing overlooking a large opened cage from below. There were so many of them, hundreds maybe, humanoid, bipedal corpses of human and Pokemon variants of so many kind, some had been formed into some kind of hybrid or human/Pokemon.

But the room wasn't just the hundred of corpses, there were about 6 Annihilation Soldiers all armed, 4 others in lab coats all gathered around a lone man wearing a black suit standing before a large machine with one monitor in the center and a keyboard in front, it was like looking at a giant computer screen. Latias or her sister weren't there, with or without them Dewott wouldn't stand a chance against all of the soldiers here.

"Hey!" One of the guards had spotted me and all soliders aiming their weapons in our direction as we hid behind the wall. The scientists turned hiding behind the soliders for protection, all except the man wearing the suit typing onto the board as he spoke.

"I have spent countless resources and manpower just to create this machine, a machine so powerful, so great, so wonderful, only a god could achieve something like this people once told me long ago…" Juro stopped typing and glanced over his shoulder, "Today is the day the world's corruption ends."

"Gah!" One of the soldiers, a female soldier was shot with a large sphere of electricity from the other side of the railings leading to another room on the opposite side. Sakura and Isaac where there with their Pokemon as they let them use their moves to defend and attack against the soldiers on my side using their own initiative.

"Zack, we're over here. We'll keep 'em busy." Isaac shouted over the loud roaring of the corpses. "Growlithe, light them up with ember! End them." Growlithe charged up a large attack from its muzzle and shot multiple shots at the corpses below setting most of the crowd to ignite causing the volume of the roaring to rise.

"Soldiers, fire at those kids. Allow me some time to finish imputing the codes! I will not allow a bunch of children and their brainless pests to prevent me from my goal!" Juro began typing faster, his forehead began to sweat.

One of the scientists looked out from behind the solider, only to be struck with a flower pot obviously from Yamask after hearing him shout out a 'Yaaa' before the scientist fell unconscious. A large storm of or countless leaves rushed towards the soldiers damaging their armor and their weapons slightly. The soldiers retaliated by throwing grenades after pulling the pins, but all of the grenades that were thrown were immediately pushed downward by Totodile and Marill's Watergun moves, exploding a few moments after.

One by one the soldiers fell followed by the scientists trying to run away or to fight back. Juro being the only one left except the one unconscious female soldier continued to type the commands into the keyboard trying with each button to get closer to reaching the end.

Walking with Dewott to stop Juro, Sakura and Isaac were attacked by a small amount of soldiers and small drones shooting at the Pokemon. Lugia, Yamask and Salamance focused their attacks on the drones, and the rest focused all of their attacks on the soldiers.

Almost halfway now and Dewott began to run with his scalchop in paw at Juro still focused on typing into the keyboard. I was grabbed from behind as the female solider had grabbed me by the neck trying to throw me over the railings.

"Die, you corrupted Savior!" the soldier screamed attempting to lift me up and throw me off down towards the corpses reaching out with their arms attempting to grab me. Dewott looked back and ran at the soldier trying to throw me off, but the solider kicked him in his stomach making him gasp out in pain.

As I was almost lift up above her shoulders, I managed to reach out with my free hand and grabbed onto the handrail and held onto her arm with the other, but that didn't stop her from trying to throw me off. Dewott shook off the pain in his stomach and attacked the soldier by striking at her calves with razor shell as she screamed letting go off me as I fell back onto the ground. Quickly standing up before the soldier could attack again, me and Dewott both pushed her off over the railing as she fell down on top of the reanimated corpses softening the impact.

"Wait! N-no, NO! *Screams*" The soldier struggled to escape the large crowd of the corpses, but they overwhelmed easily. That was what the Reanimated corpses did whenever they attack an enemy, to kill them however they wanted.

"Corruption," Juro began glaring at me, "This world is full of it. It is everywhere and in most people and regions. Hatred, I am trying to get rid of it, the act of hatred, the meaning of it, it all must go!"

Suddenly, Juro ran up to us with a wrench and hit Dewott across the face pushing him to the floor. Juro then rushed at me trying to strangle me with the wrench pushing me over the railing.

"You miserable FREAK! Years, and I mean years have I built this machine and for what? For some snotty nosed little brat and his friends to get in my way of a new world? NO damn it! NO! This machine will allow me to recreate this corrupt world and change it for the better! No more war, no indifference, no hatred or corruption! All of that will be a story for future generations, and no fucking kid will deny me of that! AGH!" Dewott had stabbed Juro in his leg deeply, yet he refused to let go of the wrench. He pushed me further hoping that I would fall off, but I didn't as I held onto the wrench refusing to give in.

"G-get off, damn it! Die!" Juro screamed furiously trying to angle the wrench so that I couldn't grasp it anymore, but with that final push, one of the railings broke off the wall and dangled leaving us to hang over the corpses screaming and biting with their rotting teeth to kill anything they could find. Holding onto the railing still with my hand, Juro was holding onto my leg as the corpses below managed to grab onto Juro's legs, pulling him, it was either Juro let go, or if he held on any longer I would fall to.

Juro looked up at me with one final look, it was a furious glare before he let go into the corpses knocking a few of them to fall back. Juro managed to quickly stand up and strike at the reanimated corpses that got too close to him. "S-stay back! I created you, obey me damn it!" But they didn't. Each corpse approached and struck at him with their hands, paws or claws and sharp teeth digging into his flesh. Struggle all he could, Juro was finally killed by the corpses as the flame from Growlithe's ember had grown into a fiery inferno below burning all.

Only a handful of the corpses remained, that was when Dewott stared out into the fire engulfed corpses tearing at their former master that he saw something or better yet someone he hadn't seen ever since he was an Oshawott.

There near the other corpses still alive were two Oshawott-like corpses with their bodies slowly disintegrating due to the flames. Dewott watched the two as they burnt, on the male corpse was a large scar across its chest area… his father had the same exact scar, and his mother had the same scars on its arm and forehead from a bite wound from a Houndoom that killed the two whilst protecting him. Dewott teared up at this sight. He believed it were his parents standing in the flames, he hated seeing them like that, what they had become.

Climbing back, Dewott helped me across and stood a little longer watching the flame engulfing the last of the corpses. Sakura and Isaac had finished off fighting the remaining soldiers and drones as they fled. All we needed to do was escape.

Dewott and I began to run out towards the exit of the room to reunite with the others and escape the building, but I was thrown back onto one of the computers stationed near the machine, Latias had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and tried to strike at me again with one of her claws. Thankfully the keyboard was the only thing I could use in a means of defense, but only for a little while as with one powerful strike with Latias' claw shattered it a pieces. Latias raised her paw up high and struck down towards my head.

I evaded the attack, and so Latias' paw broke through the computer monitor electrifying her before it exploded with small shards stabbing into my back. Latias fell unconsciously to the ground hitting her head on one of the dropped guns left by the soldiers during the fight. The machine behind me began to shut off.

From where Sakura and Isaac where, the two looked up and saw Shiny Latias shaking as she watched her masters death and Latias' defeat. Shiny Latias glared at us before looking up at the ceiling causing it to collapse and levitating up above to escape the base. She had escaped the base and the area, fleeing north of Unova crying only slightly, but narrowed her eyes after hearing a loud explosion from the base.

She then flew faster towards her destination, screaming in rage.

Her home was destroyed…

…and so was Team Annihilation.

To be continued... 

* * *

Trivia

The first plan for the story had the Reanimated Corpses actually speaking, but they only spoke backwards and only one word or two. These words they spoke were often the last words they said before their death. This idea however was dropped for a future idea. 

**AN: 3 more chapters to go until the end of 01. Thanks for reading the story so far, feel free to leave a review and whatnot, until next time.**


	38. Chapter 38 Healing

Chapter 38 - Healing 

* * *

**Castelia City The Saviors - Medical Floor Room 2BC – 1 Week prior to Team Annihilations Downfall**

1 week had passed since the downfall of Team Annihilation, Unova became a quieter region ever since the news that its largest threat had finally ended. The Saviors found the base after a passing traveller discovered smoke in the forest north of Castelia city, the traveller called the fire brigade about it, but when they saw multiple Team Annihilation soldiers run out, that was when they called the Saviors.

The Saviors arrived and fought off the remaining reanimated corpses that escaped and Annihilation soldiers that stayed and tried to defend their base. Most of Team Annihilation members were arrested while some; a very small amount had escaped, including Shiny Latias.

We were then rescued by the Saviors before half of the building was destroyed because of the fire that spread fast throughout Annihilation's base. The Saviors after saving the prisoners used for the reanimated corpse program began searching the building for documents and files left behind. Research papers, blueprints on new weapons and tech, even plans for another Annihilation base to be set up within the Kalos region.

"H-huh? Ah!" I awoke in a hospital bed surrounded by my Pokemon (except Golurk and Lugia due to their size) and both Sakura and Isaac, all cheered as I opened my eyes still stinging from the rooms light. I was covered in bandages on both of my arms, legs, torso and forehead as if I were wearing a bandana. I had been lying in that bed for about a week in so much pain than it was when I got them, it was like my entire body on the inside and out was set on fire then left to burn in a somewhat warm room.

"Zack, we were worried about you!" Sakura walked up to me and hugged me, along with her Minccino and Marill both with a small band aid on top of their head. They weren't injured; they just found a box of band aids and placed them on top of their heads for fun while they waited for their trainer to be checked up on.

"Yeah," Isaac said stepping towards the bed with a thumbs up, "With the amount of blood ya lost, which was like a liter, although I am exaggerating about how much blood you lost; you managed to survived. All thanks to us." Isaac grinned, but Minccino and Marill sitting next to one another just rolled their eyes at him, along with the other Pokemon.

After a brief quick look around the room again I noticed one Pokemon wasn't in the room with us, "Latias… where is she?"

"She's at the hotel…resting." Isaac said scratching the back of his head. "The Saviors had offered us a place to stay in until we could leave. Latias said she is too exhausted to come today… uh, yeah, t-that's about it." Isaac stared down at the floor, so did a lot of the others.

Still lying down in the bed staring up at the ceiling I thought, _"After what had happened in that base, Juro controlling Latias with that chip inside her head to attack me. Maybe the real reason she didn't come today was that Latias is too ashamed to see me… I need to see her; I need to talk to her."_

* * *

 ****

 **Castelia City Hotel – Room 5B - Dewott's POV**

About an hour ago I think, (it may have been 50 minutes or more… who care about that.) was when I last saw Zack in that hospital bed covered in those bandages stained with blood. Being in that place wasn't exactly pleasant, I don't know why it did, but it made me feel sick just to be in that building. Me with Isaac with his Pokemon went back to the hotel room together to get some things for Zack in the hospital; a clean, new, and uncut red shirt and pants and such since the old ones he wore were destroyed by Latias in that harsh attack.

Speaking of her, Latias had occupied a bed out of the four in the room to cry on day and night for the past 3 days. The other 4, Latias was hospitalized due to that weird thing inside her head.

After defeating Juro and destroying that strange machine juro said he would use to alter the world, Latias still controlled by that odd chip inside her head tried to kill Zack, but missed and electrocuted herself on one of the monitors behind Zack's head. They brought her back to the city and performed an operation to remove it and any other secret chip or 2 that may be hidden. After waking, Latias didn't wait to be allowed to leave, so instead she went to locate Zack. After about 2 hours of searching for him in almost every hospital room and a morgue at one point.

When she found him in the end, in 'The weird one's' exact words, "She bolted on outta der like crazy!" What kind of person pronounces 'there' as 'der'? (Humans sure are strange.) Well anyway, Latias remained covered within the bed sheets, her sobbing although silent now audible as I approached and climbed up pulling the sheets away from her face.

"Latias? Hey, h-" Latias looked up at me, her eyes dripping with tears, a lot more tears than I had ever saw from Latias. Her eyes were a bloodshot red after all the crying she had been doing, refusing to speak to anyone or eat anything despite the countless pleads and persuasions, she never budged.

"Dewy… you must think of me… *sniff* as a monster…!" Latias sobbed resting her head on the damp pillow. I reached out with my paw and wiped away the tears.

"No, I don't think you are a monster. Not me, the Pokemon, or even Zack." Latias shut her eyes as she covered her face with both her paws still crying. "Latias, it wasn't you who hurt him. I mean, it was Juro who that did all that. It wasn't your fault; none of us think it was." Latias removed her paws away and opened her eyes; she then looked at her claws in front of her.

"B-but… i-it, b-but my c-c-claws cut him…" Latias began tearing up more the longer she stared at her claws, "With these claws… I-I almost k-killed him… *sobs* I hurt him so much… h-he hates me… *sniff* all of you should hate me… and to h-hurt me, m-make me suffer just like I did with Z-Zack…" Latias let her head drop onto the pillow and cried some more. I then began to stroke her neck, the same way Zack did whenever Latias would rest beside him.

"He doesn't hate you, Latias. I don't hate you, Sakura doesn't, and our friends don't. Heck; even 'The weird one' doesn't hate you either. We're worried about you." Isaac and Yamask had finished packing Zack's shoulder bag full of his clothes and items he would need when leaving the hospital after he had recovered in a few days. Standing up making my way over to the door, I stopped and looked back at Latias.

"Zack said he wanted to see you again. You should go to him; it wasn't your fault in that place. When you're ready, you know where he will be." Latias didn't budge from her spot and remained there covering her face with the pillow.

* * *

 ****

 **Nuvema Town - Latias' POV**

I remember that day like it was yesterday, the storm followed by the bright flashes from the lightning from the sky scared me as I levitated as fast as I could go. I had no memory of my life with Annihilation or why I was running away in the first place.

After hours of running in the same direction for what seemed like hours in the forest, I found lights though the trees ahead of me. Still continuing towards these lights, more and brighter they appeared until suddenly I had left the forest only to crash right into a large wooden fence ceasing my levitation to fall right down in the wet dirt from the rain.

My vision was blurry for a small brief moment, until I heard the sound of running from a species I had never seen before; it was a human boy kneeling down beside me asking me if I was alright and if I was hurt anywhere. I didn't respond to him, my only concerns at that time; where was I, and why my head began throbbing in so much pain. (Obviously due to the impact with the fence I rammed my head into.) After a minute or 2 of lying there in the mud, I must've passed out later regaining consciousness on the couch in the living room.

In the room surrounding me on the couch were Zack and his adoptive mother Ayaka treating to my wounds I received upon crashing into the fence. Zack stood there watching over me asking his mother question after question…

"What kind of Pokemon is it? Where did it come from? Is it going to be alright? What are you putting on it?" He asked each one besides the last without waiting for an answer from her. Ayaka smiled and answered.

"I don't know what kind of Pokemon it is sweetie, or where it came from." She sprayed a little more of the Potion onto my forehead. "But it will be alright. It's a good thing I had these Potions leftover from my time looking after the neighbors Pokemon last month, huh?"

"Can we keep it? Can we mommy?" Zack begged hopping up and down tugging onto her shirt by the shoulder. Ayaka playfully messed with his hair and replied, "We need to know if its trainer is out there looking for it. We can't keep it if it already has an owner."

After cleaning up my wound, Ayaka stood and walked over to the nearby phone hanging on a wall in the kitchen. She said before leaving that she was going to be making a quick phone call to the laboratory about me. So while we waited for her to return, I was left there with Zack still starring at me, examining my blue triangle pattern on my chest and wings twitching almost every time Zack approached me more closely than Ayaka did.

"Hi there," He smiled waving at me, "My name is Zack. What's your name?" Obviously I couldn't tell him, let alone ask him questions that I wanted answered. My only responses were the usual 'Laaah lah' kind of thing humans heard, but what I was truly saying were things like; what I was doing in the building, Who the 2 were, and who I was.

Zack continued to persist on asking me questions I couldn't answer, most were questions I didn't know, and this irritated me to the point I started to dislike him. Zack didn't notice my somewhat of a glare at him as he started to turn his attention to his mother that had entered the room.

"The professor will be at the lab within a few days and she can check up on our guest. But from the description I gave to her, she told me what species, region and gender; she is a Latias from the Hoenn region, a legendary Pokemon." Ayaka smiled and so did Zack a lot more. I didn't understand what Hoenn was, what a legendary Pokemon is, so I just stopped trying to ask them things about me or why I was here.

The thought at staying there for a while with Zack annoyed me at how he kept on looking at my feathers more closely to the point his face was just inches away from my body. I didn't have a problem with his mother Ayaka, it was just him.

As the days passed, the more I got to know them. I later learnt after exploring the house the very next day after resting that Zack had a little sister about 4 years old I think? Yeah, I think that's how old she was when first meeting her in her room. She when I entered her room curious at the playful sounds she was making with her toys stopped, dropped and ran up to me like Zack did. She had introduced herself as Yuri, and as if on cue Ayaka appeared at the door and told her what species I was. They didn't give me a nickname, it was just Latias.

For the past few hours we played first in Yuri's room with her toys, and then played outside playing hide and seek enjoying the warm sun and blue cloudless sky, it sure was a nice day compared to the storm from yesterday… but it wasn't exactly a nice day for everyone.

Zack had arrived home from school covered in small cuts on his cheek, he was crying on the couch with his mother. Zack had been bullied that day, he had gotten into a fight. The teachers at the time of the fight had witnessed who had started it and who threw the first punch… Zack was blamed for the fight when he didn't, 3 against one, and Zack was the only one to blame.

I didn't know how I felt upon hearing that back then. Thinking about that moment upon seeing Zack crying with his mother after the fight, after all of the blame he received by the students and teachers watching, it was unfair for him. His mother did fight for him and believed Zack would never hurt anyone, the teachers and principle refused to listen to her and began to side with the bullies. Ayaka fought against this, but for some reason they lost, Zack returned to that horrible school, only happy when he got back.

With each passing day after he returned to school he tried to speak to me, play with me or just sit beside me, but being immature I just glared at him or tried to leave the room to find another where Zack wasn't. He eventually stopped trying to be with me and was always in his room playing alone.

A few days until the professor Ayaka mentioned would return to the lab did after a week. Ayaka told Zack to take me with him to the laboratory to get checked up whether or not that I belonged to a trainer or owner somewhere in the Unova region.

It was my first time levitating through Nuvema town, I never did turn invisible while travelling to the lab that day, but if I did know how to do it, would those kids even bother with him then?

The walk wasn't too far away, 10 minutes I'd say. We had to leave at about 9 in the morning since Ayaka had to go to work very soon leaving a babysitter to watch Yuri and Zack until 3 that afternoon. There weren't too many people on the streets that hour; this allowed us to get there and back without too many people gathering around us on seeing a rare Pokemon.

"Hey freak!" One kid out of the 4 shouted out to Zack before throwing a rock at the back of his head. The kids then laughed as the rock hit him and started to walk up to him, to circle around him preventing him from trying run away.

"What the hell is that thing?" One kid spat as he began to tug on my wing causing me to flinch. It didn't hurt the way he tugged on it, I started to feel uneasy around them, almost levitating upwards to escape on my own back to the house, but I didn't.

"Man, this thing looks weird. Let's capture it using my dad's Pokeballs." The taller boy a lot bigger than the others and Zack approached me and began to pull on my ear hurting me as I shrieked out.

"Geez dude, you're scaring it good." He laughed, "Pull on its ears some more." The obese boy laughed poking my stomach hard with his fingers. Zack turned to the taller boy and stuttered slightly in his speech,

"L-leave h-her alone." One of the 4 boys that didn't touch me had pushed Zack over to the floor and began kicking him. So did the obese kid. The taller boy then did the same, until he began to kneel down to punch Zack in his face.

Before he did however, Zack said to me, "Latias, run away!" The boys laughed even more at this and I turned to run back home… but I couldn't. I looked back seeing the boys attacking Zack and laughing at him, _"Are they the same boys that started that fight with him?"_ I thought as I looked at them hurting Zack. The thought of the teachers and students as they didn't do anything to stop the fighting, and then blaming it all on him, angered me. Ever since we first met that day outside in the storm by the broken fence, I had treated him like he was an enemy to me, someone I hated so much. He had fed me, wished me goodnight before I fell asleep, he tried to be my friend.

"Ah!" Rushing head first into the taller boy, I pushed him over stopping him from punching Zack. The other 3 stopped their attacks, but I didn't. I didn't know any moves back then so I used my speed and levitation to my advantage into pushing them away from Zack. The bullies that had attacked Zack tried to fight me back by trying to throw rocks at me or strike at me with sticks they broke off a nearby tree, they didn't touch me once since I was too fast for any of them.

One after the other I had pushed them back or on the dirt road. Some had scrapped their knees and began crying and running away, the taller boy began shouting threats as he ran, things like, 'You're so dead!' And 'It's not over yet!' and then they were finally gone leaving us alone.

Levitating down to Zack I helped him sit up and hugged him, Zack at first didn't say anything for a while, I then started to believe that he didn't want anything to do with me, but he hugged me and said, "Why didn't you run away? Why did you help me?"

Opening my mouth to answer him I stopped, since he couldn't understand me I wanted to tell him that I stayed to protect him and was worry how I had treated him before. Before I knew it tears began to fall from my eyes and onto his shirt, I just hugged him whimpering. Zack in return hugged me and cried with me.

He told me that I was his first friend he ever had, that anyone had defended him against those kids. The kids did tell their parents later that day confronting Zack's mother before leaving for work about our so-called 'revenge attack' against them. They ran off screaming again in the end. The bullying ended with those 4 kids… almost, but we grew up together as friends from then on.

* * *

 ****

 **Present**

I awoke in that hotel room to find that everyone in the room was sleeping in their own beds already. The alarm clock on the dresser of the bed read '1:19' visiting hours were already over by now so I couldn't go.

I stayed there thinking about everything that had happened during the past few months of our travels together… until that horrible moment I had almost killed Zack. I then thought back to my first birthday with them. After finding out my age in the laboratory; which I was 6 years old at the time we celebrated my birthday. I remember my first present from Zack was a dvd of a new movie based on a Latias tv show that aired recently. It's a tv show in which a Latias a.k.a. Super Latias lives in the Kanto region and is the hero in that city. She faces challenges from villains and concealing her identity from her trainer whenever trouble is afoot.

I remember that I loved that show so much, for Halloween I put on a cape (A bed sheet) with the blue triangle shape in the center I drew on with one of Yuri's paint brushes, and cut up a long black sock as a mask and put it up around my eyes to conceal my identity… I sound like suck a dork back then.

For the longest week it had been, I smiled at that thought of my earlier days as a young Latias. And so, after gaining enough courage, I lifted up from the bed and levitated out of the open window towards the hospital.

* * *

 ****

 **Castelia City The Saviors - Medical Floor Room 2BC**

Arriving right outside of Zack's room still invisible I waited there in silence frozen up at the thought what Zack would do or say if he saw me again. Fear, that's what i felt, but i felt ashamed to be there, levitating idly by just right outside Zack's room listening for anything from the inside, i didn't.

 **"Get away from me, I never want to see you again you traitor!"**

 **"The Saviors will arrive shortly to take you away, to be locked up forever."**

 **"I hate you Latias, I wish we never met!"**

Those words I had thought up, the possible words that Zack could say if he saw me in his room. _"H-H-He hates m-m-me… I-I c-can't do it…"_ The tears began again, but I didn't levitate out of that hospital, I just stayed there crying.

"He doesn't hate you, Latias." Dewott's words echoed in my mind to what he had told me earlier, "I don't hate you, Sakura doesn't, and our friends don't. Heck; even 'The weird one' doesn't hate you either. We're worried about you." Did Dewott tell the truth about Zack wanting to see me again, that he wasn't angry at me? I was afraid to know, and then I sighed deeply before entering the room Zack was inside.

" _I'll just… g-go in. If he hates me, I'll just leave and…"_ I looked up at the bed Zack was lying in and saw his still covered in bandages around his body. Like how I saw him after waking up I panicked and turned, but before quickly rushing out of the room and hospital and escaped I heard Zack move around in his bed.

"L-Latias?" He called out after coughing. I levitated there facing the doorway, just a few more inches and I would be out of that room and back outside. I feared Zack's response on how I hurt him… _'This was it… it's over now.'_ I turned around and levitated over to Zack's bed so slowly that I almost turned back and ran for it.

Approaching his bed now I could feel my muscles tense up, I refused to look at Zack in his eyes… I refused. I could hear his breathing was struggling after he had coughed… it was horrible. It felt like minutes had passed and nothing happened, Zack didn't speak or touch me, I began to tear up some more as I continued to stare at the floor, _'He's… deciding how to p-punish me… I deserve whatever-'_

My thoughts were interrupted by 2 arms wrapping around my head, Zack had sat up from his bed and pulled me close to his chest. "I'm glad you came, Latias." He didn't sound angry; neither there was any hint of anger, but happiness.

"I'm going to be alright." He whispered into my ear softly. Not sure of what to do I pulled away from him looking up into his eyes. He smiled weakly and stroked my long neck.

Crying again, I pulled him in for another hug letting my emotions pour out. Zack held me within his arms like he did when we first became friends. "Shh, it's alright Latias. It wasn't your fault; it's going to be alright."

This was…good. I worried all that time about being banished for what had happened, punished like what Juro made me do to him, but I didn't need to. I was so happy and relieved that this fear was gone, and in the morning, it would be a better day than it was that past week. I guess in a way it is like suffering a harsh wound, fearing that this wound could alter your life, give you infections or worse, but in the end it heals. For me; I feared I would be banished or punished, in the end; we were back to normal again, back to being friends.

Did that make any sense? I was trying to compare what had happened by using an injury as an example; from getting a cut, if it's a serious one or not, can it lead to infections or other serious effects. And what had happened with Juro was the cut, the hotel with me was some kind of me refusing to go to the center to get it checked, and me finally seeing Zack to know that he doesn't hate me or blame me for what had happened was the news that the injury wasn't serious and that in the end it was healing.

(Please Zack, please don't ask me again to tell a story again… I'm bad at it, and I'll only talk about how I love Super Latias. Oh, like that one time when she saved the school full of children from the fire caused by the faulty generator down in the basement, no one was hurt or died at the end of the episode, I just like talking about certain episodes trying not to give away the ending.)

(Remaining conversation with Latias was 20 more minutes about Super Latias, so I just cut it.)

To be continued...

* * *

Trivia:

In the original version (not the Original-original version but the first stage of this story) the Pokemon communicated with paw movements and showing a photo of the person who why were talking about instead of the reader understanding them.


	39. Chapter 39 Heroes

Chapter 39 – Heroes

* * *

 **The Saviors HQ - Waiting Room outside of Clark Stone's office**

I alone was waiting outside of Clark Stone's office after a few more days of rest at the hospital. He had requested for me alone so we could discuss on how I disobeyed orders and left the city to Nuvema town.

My Pokemon and both Sakura and Isaac waited in a private room full of food and beds for us set up by Claire and Billy when immediately entering the building

And so it was time for me to enter as his secretary had told me that Clark wanted to see me now, 'Well, here goes.' I thought to give myself some confidence boost, but it didn't help how nervous I was entering that office again like that. Unsure what Clark would do or say about my career here for going against orders.

"Take a seat Zack, I'll be with you in a short while." Clark offered me a seat in front of his desk as he began to type onto his keyboard. I sat there for a short brief moment until Clark cleared his throat and began.

"2 weeks ago you went against our orders to stay within the city to find your family. Not only did you find them in the end, but Team Annihilation had found you, a person they had considered on being their enemy immediately after the slavery incident. Not only did you put yourself at risk, but your 2 friends, Sakura and Isaac could've died, but thankfully no one did." Clark paused before clearing his throat.

"I know Zack, I know what Juro did to you and your real family. I didn't know it when meeting you a few months back… b-but I knew after the slavery incident."

My eyes had widened open at that, and so I asked "Why didn't you say anything? If you could've told me-"

"If I had told you, would you believe me even if I had enough evidence to support this? I did some digging, and I found your last name 'Raines' in an old newspaper from 10 years ago. Photo and all, you were there from before your death and revival. Your adoptive parents, their last name is Amano, you wrote down Raines as your last name upon entry within the Saviors. I called your mother about that; she told me you changed your name because you and your father got into an argument. He was never there you, your sister, or your mother."

"It was a name I thought up when I was young, using it didn't feel foreign to me, it felt like it belonged to me somehow. I didn't know that my last name was Raines… before I had died." It was strange talking about this; it was as if I was talking about someone else's life, and not my own.

"I know how you feel about that. A different life than what you were used to previously. Believe it or not, it happened to me when I was about your age, then bham, now I am the founder of an organization that protects people around the world against people like Juro." A ships foghorn sounded in the distance causing Clark to look over at the window behind his chair. He stood up and walked over to the window that overlooked the city.

"I understand why you left the city, family I important, you would do anything to protect them from harm." Clark looked back at me, "I am not going to fire you or demote your Savior rank. You prevented Annihilation from destroying all of Unova that day. The machine he had built for over 10 years wasn't exactly complete, yet it was incomplete. Had that machine been activated, Unova would be gone from existence."

"For years, Team Annihilation and the Saviors have been fighting for control of the region. Juro had his own reasons for fighting; to prevent corruption, hatred and war for future generations. But he killed so many people and Pokemon to get that dream, but it instead killed him, along with everything he had built."

"Zack," he said before sitting down back in his chair. "For defeating Annihilation with help from your friends, and all of your hard work over the past 7 months of being with us' I hereby promote you to Savior rank 05."

"T-thank you, sir." I said smiling a little still in a small amount of pain throughout my neck.

"Join up with the others in the room we had set up for you. There will be a celebration for our victory tonight. Tomorrow, I want you to return home and rest up for a couple of months. After everything you have been through, I'm guessing you need a long break to heal those injuries." Clark offered his hand for me to shake; I did and stood up heading for the door to join the others.

* * *

The Saviors HQ – Ceremony Room Later that day

Many people had gathered in the ceremony room that day, family members together, laughing and cheering as they drank and danced on one side of the room. And on the other in the corner near the entrance were 17 soldiers and 12 civilians stood together with glasses of what appeared to be an alcoholic beverage, and some kind of fruit juice for the minors in silence over a large billboard with individual photos of the comrades lost due to team annihilation. Each photo contained messages from them and their family.

' _Wish you were here.' 'Rest my friend, you fought bravely.' 'Never forget you bro, neither your honor' 'Rest easy buddy, you will not be forgotten.'_ As I took a closer look at the memorial for the soldiers that had died, I noticed the small worded banner across reading,

' _In memory of the brave soldiers who died protecting the city.'_ Taking one last look at the soldiers who had died that day when the city was attacked before we had left for Nuvema town, each solider wasn't just a rank 01, 02, or 03 high ranked solider. They were soldiers of different ranks. Each soldier of a rank 10 and 08 was friends with a rank 01 or 04. They all fought together to claim victory over the enemy, there were no groups of 1s, 2s, or just a group of 3s, they worked together as a team.

The music played to a much more upbeat tone allowing more people to dance just like when me and Sakura danced together in that club. Isaac standing beside bar set up by the Savior's for the party began drinking a few cups of cola alone, that is until he noticed 2 female Savior members a little older than himself talking together and using their phones to take photo's standing beside an elderly woman who was one of the chefs within the HQ.

Isaac saw this as a chance to get one of them to dance with him, to have fun even. Stopping beside them still talking, Isaac cleared his throat and asked, "It sure is a great place to have a party huh?" The 2 girls didn't answer him, but the old woman standing beside the 2 girls giggled and smiled at him saying, "It sure is dearie."

Isaac glanced over at the old woman and rolled his eyes at her, "Uh, n-no I'm not talking to you, I was talking to them…" Isaac returned his glance over at the 2 girls still not realizing that Isaac was standing next to them still taking pictures.

"Would you like to have this dance with me?" Isaac asked grinning with his hand reaching out to take either ones hand, but his hand was met with another hand, one that belonged to an old woman. The old woman giggled like a schoolgirl when taking his hand, "I would be honored, young man."

Isaac tried to escape the old woman's iron grip, but escape was impossible as he was dragged away from the 2 girl who had just noticed him being pulled away to the dance floor. "G-get off of my hand, you old peg leg you, I'm only 16, man!" And so, the old woman started to dance with him, but unlike the others dancing by waving their arms and jumping up and down and such, she was dancing in a manner to that of a ballroom dance.

"Hey Zack, I got you a plate of cake if you'd like." Reiko smiled approaching me with one of 2 plates full of cake she got from the food table. I thanked her for the cake accepting it and we ate our own together watching everyone dance on the dance floor, even Isaac still dancing with the Savior chef.

"Clark just told me you were promoted to rank 05, congratulations." Reiko cheered after taking another bite out of her cake,

"Thanks, I couldn't have done it without you." Reiko smiled at that and watched the dancing from both Isaac and the Savior chef some more trying her best to prevent herself from laughing at the way they were dancing, or Isaac's face now red from embarrassment. "Thanks Zack, I'm glad I could help."Reiko's smile quickly fell placing the empty plate on a nearby table.

"We never did go to that café to have coffee, huh?" She smiled sadly looking over her shoulder towards me.

"We could still go. After the party we could go." I was nervous when asking that, I then asked myself, 'Was that how I should ask?' I never did know what to do when a girl did this with me, from saying the right thing, or by saying something so embarrassing that they would walk away.

"We can't…" Reiko sat down at the table offering me a seat next to her. When I sat down beside her, she spoke again, "I mentioned that I was speaking to my uncle Clark before… but that wasn't the only reason I spoke to him, or he called me over for us to talk about an offer. Tonight at 8, I'll be boarding a ship for the Kanto region, I'm leaving here to work in Kanto, and it's not permanent, only temporarily."

"What are you going to be doing there?" I asked as she began to play with the cake crumbs still on the plate with  
her fork. "Clark didn't say much about it. Only that this mission was important. I don't mind these kinds of temporarily placements. At least I get to see the sights and new Pokemon while I am out there."

"How long for do you know?" I asked as she just shook her head, "He didn't say, it could be a few weeks, a couple of months, or even a year… I didn't like coffee that much anyway, let's just stick to cake for now. When I get back, that's when we'll go, sound good?"

"Sure." I nodded, noticing that the dancing had stopped as the music changed to a more upbeat one than before. Reiko turned her head towards me and said before standing up "I have to get ready to leave tonight. Wish I could stay longer. Have a safe trip back home Zack." Reiko smiled and waved before walking out of the room.

Reiko then left the city by the boat for 8 just like she said to me. I wanted to see her off when she got on, but I needed to get home to rest. The medication I was given to ease the pain throughout my body was coming back to me, and also Sakura and Isaac were finally going home, our own separate ways.

* * *

Clark sitting next to a table near the large stage eating some the of the food he picked out from the food table, the chair beside him was pulled out and there sat next to him was Billy with his own plate of food smiling.

"Some party huh? You never pulled any party like this since I joined you know," Billy ate a few bits of food from his plate.

"I only hold parties for special occasions. Seasonal holidays, Savior members reaching rank 01, or a birthday party for the man who pays all of you."

"Alright old timer, you made your point. So, what do you plan on doing with Zack now that he is a rank 05?" Billy asked as Clark looked at him.

"He needs the rest before he can start work again. A month should do it. Might keep him within the Unova region for a while, or send him to a different region to help other Savior factions"

"Well I am the medic of this team, and a month isn't enough really. He suffered a lot of muscle damage on both his arms and legs. His hearing was almost damaged on his right ear, but we managed to fix that. A month isn't going to help him, after what he has been through these past few months; I'd say he has deserved a longer rest." Billy suddenly stopped and saw the counselor Claire talking with some of her colleagues. She then noticed Billy looking over at her from the table and smiled. Clark noticed this and smirked.

"You two have been at this old staring contest for quite a while now, just go over there and ask to dance or whatever." Clark asked Billy as he blushed unsure what to say. Grabbing the cup of apple juice in front of him he gulped it down and walked over to her. Clark watched from the table and smiled before continuing to eat from his plate.

* * *

Lee and Dr Guard sat at another table away from the dance floor were discussing among themselves the corpses and Juro, about his true name, origins and the files they found within the destroyed base that was once Annihilation HQ.

"So pops, what did ya team discover back in that there old HQ?" Lee asked drinking from a glass of whiskey. Dr Guard scowled at the word 'Pops' from Lee but answered his question anyway.

"We discovered about 50 boxes worth of files, blueprints, maps, and employee documents of everyone who has ever worked with Annihilation. Tomorrow me and the team are going through a file each and find out what they kept inside those papers."

"Think we'll find information about Juro? Since that wasn't his true name, and of cause he and old Stone knew each other once before they became enemies?"

Lee crossed his arms and looked over at the memorial with no one stood by it, "Juro was a secretive man, I doubt there is even a 05% or more chance at finding a small hint at his true name or past." Lee shut his eyes and sighed, "And that isn't looking up page after page of 50 boxes worth of documents, but over 200 hours worth of audio recordings from Annihilation members we have to listen to… it'll take weeks to get through them both."

Lee looked up at the ceiling after taking a sip from his glass and thought before asking him, "Hey pops, I've been thinking, Zack mentioned in his report that the corpses turned on Juro when he fell in that pit. Killed him by tearing his flesh apart, ya think because of the machine it corrupted them somehow confusion them from who was enemy or ally?"

"It's possible, but once we find more documents on the Reanimated corpses, we'll know for sure why they turned on him." Dr Guard said stretching his back from his chair, "Perhaps we'll find some documents on the Raines boy, and how he was the only one to be revived."

"Ya think there were others who revived back from the dead?" Lee asked looking over at the doctor still closing his eyes appearing as if he was asleep, "Once we find documents about the Reanimated corpses program, we will know. The better question you should be asking me… why Juro didn't kill him, he only left him with none life threatening injuries. Maybe he left him alive for some other purpose, like he did when he first revived from the dead."

Lee stared at the doctor for a moment unsure if what he heard was from the whiskey he drank, "You telling me pops, is that Zack is some kind of sleeper agent of some kind? That Juro left the kid survive to do what exactly? To restart Team Annihilation again and become the new ruler? Man doc, you crazy as hell to think that."

"Juro let him live for a reason I believe. He could've killed him many times but he didn't. Who knows why Juro let him live. Like I said before, those documents could bring us further on finding out what Juro was planning to do with the boy."

"Say what you want about the kid, doc. He ain't some sleeper agent, all he did was getting in Annihilation's way and then they shoved him aside, and that's it." Lee drank all of his whiskey before standing up to walk away from him. Dr Guard watched him stand up.

"I didn't mean he was our enemy, lee." Lee stood there turning his head to look over his shoulder, "Then what did you mean?"

"All I am saying is that we should watch over the boy, just to be safe that is. Like Latias, she was a sleeper agent controlled by Juro losing all self control."

"Billy scanned all the Pokemon, his two friends, and Zack fully. There were no traces of any kind of chip, bug, or any other kind of device. And I know a sleeper agent when I see one. Sure I missed it with Latias, but Zack ain't an agent." Lee then began to walk away slightly drunk. He didn't know what to think of what he had just heard, perhaps the doctor was right, and perhaps he was wrong. But Lee refused to believe that I was a sleeper agent…

* * *

Pinwheel Forest – 2 Hours after party

Now arriving at Pinwheel forest entrance before the Skyarrow Bridge we decided this place was a good area to see us off before we left. Sakura wanted to return home to get ready to start med school, and Isaac wanted to return home to Black city to see that Juliet's ashes return to her family.

The forest was slightly damp and somewhat humid than last me and Sakura walked through here before entering Castelia city before joining the Saviors. It was tricky to navigate through this place since every branching path looked the same. But thankfully someone had set up notice boards throughout the forest leading any traveller to the way out.

"Ya know," Isaac said looking up through the trees towards the sky smiling, "They say that in this forest is the best place where you can see a legendary Pokemon flying overhead. Which Legendary Pokemon you might ask; I don't know. So how bout we stay here for a short while, see if we can catch a glimpse of something flying over the forest?"

"Sure, we can stay here for a while." Sakura said as her Minccino cheered in her arms. All three of us brought out our Pokemon together and all watched the sky waiting for anything to fly over the forest. Nothing did fly over us while we waited for an hour, perhaps if we stayed a little while longer we might've seen something fly past; heck, even a plane would've been better than nothing.

That hour of just watching the sky above the trees was in silence, no talking, just watching and waiting for anything to appear above. We could've spent that hour talking, but we didn't, it was difficult to find the words on saying goodbye after everything we have been through. Sure, a good amount of it wasn't things you'd want to remember; kidnapping, slavery, near death experiences, we just remembered the good things about all of this.

The time had come for us to go our separate ways; Sakura had been the first to stand, followed by me helped up by Latias after struggling to stand, and then Isaac.

"I should get going," she said after picking Minccino up from the grass. "My mom is probably worried about me by now." Sakura then held Minccino with one arm and pulled out from her bag a small camera.

"I got this from one of the electronic stores back in Castelia city. You know the kind that prints off the photo? So," She walked over to a rock placing the camera on top. "All of us can have a photo each."

At that, all of us gathered together and waited for Sakura to get the camera ready. She had set up the camera to take 3 photos in a row for all three of us to take with us. After the set up, she ran back, all posed in a smile, grin, wave, or waving their paws back and forth in a silly manner staying still until the camera flashed 3 times.

 ***1 flash, 2, and 3 Times***

Sakura ran back over to pick up the camera as the small paper came out. Sakura shook the 3 pieces of paper individually and waited for all three to show their photo. She handed us one each and we stood there looking at our photos.

Me standing beside my Pokemon at the far right sitting down side Latias and Dewott to the side of me all smiling. Totodile and Bayleef hugged one another next to Latias. Golurk and Lugia stood proudly behind us as Lugia almost flew up into the tree above.

Sakura stood in the center of us with her Pokemon hugging her. Salamance leaning up to nuzzling its head against Sakura's head made the largest grin I ever saw. Minccino and Marill both standing by Sakura's legs waving, it was as if someone had placed a mirror between them seeing as how they looked so identical.

Isaac stood to the far left crossing his arms with a grin. His Pokemon, Yamask was above Isaac holding a flowerpot trying to place it on top of Isaac's head. Ampharos standing beside Isaac mimicked his pose and did the same for the camera. Growlithe sat down besides Isaac's legs and smiled, letting out a small cloud of smoke.

Lugia after the photos were taken stopped and looked up towards the sky stepping forward.

I noticed Lugia staring up and asked, "Lugia, what's wrong?" Following its gaze I saw what it was staring at. It was a large flock of many so bird-type Pokemon from many regions flying away from Castelia city, flying south for the winter I was betting on. Lugia continued to watch them, and suddenly I remembered what Lugia's dream was; to see as many new Pokemon and people so it can tell their stories for future generations. Lugia had wanted to know of its origin, where it came from, if it had parents.

"Lugia," Lugia looked down at me and lowered its head. "Do you want to go with them?" Lugia shifted its eyes away to stare at the floor, but it looked back at me and slowly nodded.

"I know why you want to go, seeing a lot of Pokemon, a lot of people, telling their stories and experiencing new ones together… sounds good." Grabbing Lugia's Pokeball out from the bag, I asked it once more, "Are you sure this is what you want?"

Lugia lifted its head and glanced over to look at all the Pokemon friends it had made look up at it smiling at Lugia. Lugia then looked up stretching its long neck upwards at the flying Pokemon above of a short while before returning its head in front of me, nodding slowly.

To release a Pokemon, press the button twice in a row on the center of the Pokeball when it is enlarged and touch the Pokemon with its Pokeball, wait until a click is heard to release it. That was one of the things I remembered reading a day before obtaining Oshawott that day when I left Nuvema town… never thought I would use it or remember it so well.

3, 2, 1, *Click!* Lugia was finally released from the ball and was now a wild Pokemon. Lugia didn't stand back immediately as I thought it would. Lugia gave me a hug careful that it didn't hurt me, the hug was a tight, I did feel the pain throughout my body come back again, but I shrugged it off as best as I could.

Lugia stepped back and flew off towards the bird-types above. High up in the sky, Lugia looked down at us and quickly waved before leaving. I guess Isaac was right; you really do see a legendary Pokemon flying over the forest.

Watching Lugia and the Pokemon fly out of view, which lasted about another 30 minutes or so we started to get ready. Returning our Pokemon back to our Pokeballs, we stood there at the exit of Pinwheel forest leading out to Skyarrow Bridge towards Castelia city.

"We'll defiantly meet up again, I mean who knows; there could possibly be another new life threatening team of criminals out there for us to take out?" Isaac laughed causing both Sakura and me to laugh as well.

"So Zack, take care and see you soon." Sakura said before hugging me causing Dewott to say 'Dewott.' in a joking tone. Sakura hugged Dewott before stepping back. Isaac gave me a thumbs up and smiled, "Later Zack, you rest up well." Isaac walked over to Sakura.

"Thanks you guys, take care." I said before Isaac walked out of Pinwheel forest, but not before Sakura took one last glance at me and waved.

I was now alone again like when I was leaving Nuvema t- no, I was never alone. I left the town with both Oshawott and Latias. Being alone as a child, I believed I wouldn't have any friends leaving the town to join the Saviors. But I did make friends, a lot of friends than I would never have guessed.

And so, I walked though Pinwheel forest eventually getting out of there after another 35 minutes with one thing in mind; to rest up for my next assignment with the Saviors… whenever that was.

But the next area we would go to after leaving Pinwheel forest… I would come across a choice; to live a dream, or to let it just be a dream. 

To be continued... 

* * *

Trivia:

Originally Heather and Henry were supposed to appear to battle the trio one last time before leaving. This was cut because i felt this conclusion to this story they needed a break from battling, especially with Zack injuries he got from a possessed Latias.

 **AN: Okay, last chapter coming very soon. With this chapter I felt it lagged on for too long towards the end there. But I wanted to not leave anything out. The characters, the extras… I'll sort if all out sometime later. Thanks for reading and uh, until next time.**


	40. Chapter 40 Dreams or Reality

**AN: Since i had finished this chapter a week earlier, instead of releasing it the next week i thought 'may as well get this story over with then.' So here is the final chapter of the main story. Please sit back and enjoy.**

Chapter 40 - Dreams or Reality

 **Route 02 - Under the midday sun**

Nuvema town was almost near as we walked (or just me since Dewott was resting on my shoulder) at a steady and relaxed pace to get home. We would arrive there within the hour where I could finally relax and let my injuries heal up.

" _A rank 05,"_ I smiled at the thought, _"4 more ranks until I reach 01. I wonder how long that will take. Well, once I return to the Saviors after healing up, I'm going give it my all."_

"Dew?" Dewott glanced over my head after we stopped, he noticed a large group of 50 trainers all gathered around with their Pokemon around a 3 busses and a truck with the words 'P.C.T.' written in bold on both sides of the vehicles. Outside of them were booths were people where signing on a clipboard given by the people behind the booths with the same P.C.T. on their shirts.

"Greetings," A woman approached us from the crowd wearing the 'P.C.T.' shirt. "Welcome to the Pokemon Care Tour, where trainers from all over the region can let their Pokemon stay with us to start a family of their own." She handed me a brochure explaining what they did. The P.C.T. or the Pokemon Care Tour looked after a trainer's Pokemon allowing them to raise a family without fear of theft. Pokemon labs offered at least a high amount of protection against Pokemon kidnapping, but it wasn't guaranteed. The P.C.T. looked after, helped raise and feed a Pokemon's young until that Pokemon was ready for the outside world. Not that the people here would release them again, they just send a message to the Pokemon's trainer that their Pokemon was ready to return to them.

After opening the brochure I read the introductory page;

 _'Winner of Pokemon Care of the year 2 years in a row'_

 _Welcome to the introductory of the Pokemon Care Tour, were we will explain what the tour has to offer for you and your Pokemon when they are staying with us the next 6 month/1 year stay._

 _Your Pokemon joined with another Pokemon will be looked after and treated with the best of care. With the P.C.T. not only will we teach your Pokemon how to raise their young, but for an extra cost we can help train your Pokemon's young up to 3 moves._

 _We will send you photos of your Pokemon and their young at their stay within the P.C.T. (Optional photo does not cost extra.) or have their photo placed on a mug._

After reading the introductory page, I turned a page to see 6 photos of Pokemon and their family's they had raised. From the photo they looked happy, well fed and like the introductory mentioned 'treated with the best of care'

Dewott looked over at the crowd leaning upward placing his paws on top of my head to get a better look. Dewott stared mouth wide open like a Magikarp out of water.

Looking over to where Dewott was staring at, I only saw the crowd with their Pokemon. But Dewott wasn't looking at the crowd, only one Pokemon standing next to its trainer talking with other trainers. Dewott was staring at a female Meowstic leaning against her trainers leg bored at waiting alone. Dewott suddenly jumped off of my shoulder and quickly walked over to her.

Approaching the Pokemon still standing beside her trainer, she noticed Dewott's sudden approach, greeting her and with a smile. The Meowstic stared at him for a small moment from feet to the top of his fur on his head and back into his eyes and smiled at him. Meowstic's trainer noticed the Dewott approach her Pokemon, and then she noticed me as I walked towards them with the P.C.T. worker following.

Meowstic's trainer was about 16 years old, same age as Isaac. She had long black hair reaching towards her waist. She was wearing some kind of costume, some kind of one suit with a utility belt with small bags that looked as if each one had something inside. Little did I know at the time, Accumula had a comic convention that ended recently, so that was my guess at why she was wearing it.

"I take it you're the Dewott's trainer, am I right? Are you also here to send your Pokemon off with another to start a family?" She asked me after glancing down at Dewott standing next to Meowstic still smiling at him.

"You're right I am Dewott's trainer, my name is Zack… in fact; I have never heard about this P.C.T. before. We were just passing by until Dewott walked over here."

"Neither did I know about them before I got here an hour ago. What the 'P.C.T.' does is look after a trainer's Pokemon and their young while feeding and looking after them until they grow up ready to leave." She glanced back down at the two Pokemon together, and so did I. Dewott and Meowstic were talking with one another, followed by the occasional giggling and blushing from them. "After reading about it and checking it up to see if it were legit; which it is, the reviews said it was excellent to help your Pokemon raise a family with them. Meowstic has been looking for a mate for a while now, so I thought 'What the heck, why not?' oh right, my name is Isabelle. Sorry for not mentioning that earlier." She laughed glancing back down at her Meowstic flirting with Dewott.

* * *

 **Route 2 – 1 Hour later**

Sitting down beside a tree away from the other trainers and their Pokemon I sat alone deep in thought. I don't know why I stayed there, that I didn't just go home and rest, but I just stayed like I was waiting for something here.

" _Dewott really seemed to like that Meowstic…"_ A sudden thought came to my head- no, a memory. It was when Isaac a while back told me that Dewott's dream one day was to start a family of his own. " _Lugia as of right now is living the dream. I have only known Dewott even since I left Nuvema town 7 months ago, we have become good friends since then."_

"Hi Zack." Her voice snapped me out of my thought as Isabelle was standing in front of me, she sat down on the grass and looked back over her shoulder to where her Meowstic was with Dewott still talking with one another.

"It's hard for me to let go of Meowstic, we have known each other for 10 years now. But it's not the end; this isn't the last time we'll see, talk or spend time with one another, because I know that when the P.C.T. program is over I'll be able to see her again, along with her young."

"Yeah, that is Dewott's dream; to start a family. A friend of mine told me that all of us have dreams including Pokemon. If leave him with these people, he will achieve that dream. I guess what I am trying to say is that… I'm not that good at saying goodbye and all. What to say, how to act… I just don't know."

Suddenly I heard laughter from the Pokemon all huddled together with those they chose as their mate. I then saw Dewott in the center with Meowstic amongst the crowd smiling as the Meowstic was talking with him.

The leader of the P.C.T. standing next to one of the busses with a megaphone and said, "Alright everyone, we are leaving in 10 minutes so those who are getting on the bus, come on up." Almost every trainer there including Isabelle stood up and walked over to their Pokemon as they did to their trainer's before leaving, and so did I. I already knew what I was going to say.

Walking over to Dewott standing beside Meowstic saying goodbye to her trainer, he noticed me walking up to him. Walking towards Dewott I glanced over at a few Pokemon saying goodbye to their trainers. Each trainer said it differently than the last. How they said their goodbyes and acted towards each other seemed right, not something overdone or a sappy goodbye, it just seemed right how they did it.

I worried that my goodbye wasn't going to be enough to say what I wanted to, 'See you soon buddy' and 'take care of yourself and Meowstic.' I didn't want it to be an awkward goodbye, but a goodbye I'd feel good about.

"Dewott…" Dewott said stepping in front of me as I stopped to kneel down in front of him. None of us said a thing for a while. Pokemon began to walk past us to get on the bus. Most of the trainers stood by the bus waving to their Pokemon.

"Dewott, uh…take care of yourself, okay? This isn't goodbye, we'll see each other again one day, and when you do come back, you'll always be welcome back on the team." I guess that was a goodbye, maybe. But it was the best I could come up with at the time.

Just as I said that, Dewott stepped closer and gave me a hug, and I hugged him back. Dewott stepped back and grabbed his everstone necklace and held the stone up facing the sun almost setting before smiling. Dewott slightly teared up and tried wiping away the tears from his eyes.

"Dewott, dew…" Dewott said smiling once more before glancing back at Meowstic waiting for him standing outside the bus. Dewott faced me again and waved before running off towards Meowstic smiling at his fast approach.

With every Pokemon now on the bus, most of the trainers had left the area while some including me and Isabelle waited until the busses were gone.

Dewott and Meowstic sat down 3 seats away from the back seat staring out of the window searching for us like other Pokemon from inside the busses searching for their trainer waving goodbye.

The busses had started moving after the P.C.T. members had got on leaving some behind to clear out the booths left behind. Before the bus Dewott was on had left, I made sure that I waved one last time, Dewott noticed this and waved back to me as the bus had entered the small road heading towards Castelia city to wherever the P.C.T. sent the Pokemon to (Sinnoh apparently)

As the busses began leaving, so did the trainers one by one leaving me alone standing there on route 02 until I decided to walk back on home to Nuvema town.

The walk home seemed quieter than it was when I walked through this way to Castelia city. Thinking back when I first started my journey I had picked Oshawott as my starter Pokemon, it was my original plan from before I wanted to become a member of the Saviors. I thought only Oshawott was going to go with me, but then Latias wanted to go, I guess her coming with me was no surprise, but it was nice to have someone I knew coming with me.

After getting lost in route 01, I slept there until early morning finding Latias gone. Then I met Sakura and her Pokemon Minccino after finding Latias with her. We then found a beach near Accumula where we encountered a Totodile clan and let one of them join us after being exiled from its clan. After joining the Saviors after the attack we then met Isaac, someone who could understand Pokemon who was travelling around the region trying desperately to earn enough money to save Juliet for an operation.

Over our journey to return a Chikorita to her trainer we met new people, people with their own stories and had helped them along the way. Not only did we make new friends, but we had made enemies.

Discovering about my true parents and their fate… and what I was, a kid who died at the age of 4 just to be revived as a so-called failure in Team Annihilation's project to create an army I felt relieved, relieved that I could start living my life how I wanted to.

I believed when I was young that I would never have anymore friends, having no reason for being on this planet or anywhere else.

I stopped walking and looked back at the already setting sun and looked up at the sky, and I smiled.

For everyone that I would meet in the future, a soldier returning alone from a harsh battle full of death and destruction, a young woman searching for answers only the dead can answer, a care free Pokemon with vengeance at the very core of her heart, to an Oshawott wearing a ribbon on top of her head… I would someday meet them all. And together, together we would face our enemies head on.

To be continued in...Pokemon Dreams 02 - Till the End of Time

Trivia:

The final chapter in Pokemon Dreams had 03 alternative endings. The first ending was Zack getting back home telling his family about what has happened so far. Dewott remained at the lab but didn't meet Meowstic. The second ending involved Meowstic and Dewott meeting at Castelia city and the two fell in love with one another. The trainer was someone who worked at the Pokemon day care over in another region and promised to look after Dewott. The third ending was similar to the official ending but Sakura, Isaac, and Latias were there to comfort him as he said goodbye to his friend.

 **AN: And so the very first story has come to an end. Already I have got the sequel figured out and it should be out sometime soon. Also, if ya want to, in the next few days I will be releasing a set of extra stories called Side Stories after 40. These Side stories will be set before, during and after the main storyline. However, these stories are optional and do not require reading for the sequel. It's more of a filler in a way, so it's your choice of cause.**

 **And thanks to all of ya'll for reading 01, reviews are very well welcome and of cause your time to read 01. Until next time.**


	41. Side Story 01 The Artist

Side Story 01/05 - The Artist 

**Note:**

 **Side Stories are short optional stories that feature the protagonist, antagonist or side character that appeared within the main story. These short stories are set before, during or after the main story but are not necessary to read for the sequel or main story.**

* * *

 ****

 **Nimbasa City – Before returning to Castelia City**

We had arrived within the city faster than we had imagined, not only that but Castelia City was almost near. Join avenue and route 4 was accessible now after the attack on the city several months back had destroyed most of the path. In fact; Join avenue and Route 04 did just open last week.

Walking to Join avenue near the southern city exit with both Sakura and Isaac, Sakura stopped walking and noticed something leaning against one of the trees beside the fountain. Walking over to the item which upon closer inspection was a 59 x 84 canvas with a small note left on the front of the painting.

'Night time Fireworks by Greg Daniels. Please return to Castelia City to C.D. my loving daughter who I miss so much.' Lifting the note off the canvas carefully she began to see the painting more clearly. Like the title 'Night time Fireworks' was a painting of Nimbasa city at night with fireworks exploding and in the sky.

"What ya got there?" Isaac walked up to Sakura holding the canvas as she turned to face them. "I found this leaning by the tree here. This note was placed on top."

Sakura handed the note to Isaac and read it and checked the back if there was more to the note. (There wasn't.) "Wonder who left it here? Ya think someone left this here, that they will come back soon?"

We waited for a while, about 10 minutes I'd say. People passed us from the city and out, no one seemed to be showing up. So instead we took it with us to take it back to Greg Daniels living in Castelia city.

* * *

 ****

 **Castelia City – After the downfall of Team Annihilation**

After the party all three of us decided to leave together, walking as far as Pinwheel forest with me so the two could return on time; Isaac with the bus back home was leaving a few hours and Sakura meeting back at the Castelia City Hospital to check up on her mom so they can leave for home tonight.

But there was one thing we almost forgot, "Hey, wait up!" Claire had ran out of the Saviors building, quickly catching up to us carrying the canvas. "Here, this painting was in the room you three were staying at before you left the city, before Annihilation had captured you."

After grabbing the canvas very carefully from Claire I said, "Thanks Claire, guess we forgot about this, huh?" turning to the others.

"Where uh… where did you get this?" Claire asked pointing at the canvas. Isaac stepped forward.

"We found it in Nimbasa city before arriving in Castelia city, before the attack near Join avenue." Claire looked at the painting and then at the signature, she seemed saddened by looking at it.

"Greg Daniels…" She muttered under her breathe, enough for us to hear her.

"You knew him?" Sakura asked glancing back at the painting. Claire nodded slightly, "He was my father, he enjoyed painting, it was his hobby."

"Why did your father leave this painting in Nimbasa city?" I asked noticing that Claire was crying as she stared at the painting.

"I don't know, he never did paint for anyone but his family. My father died a long time ago when I was only 12 years old. All I can seem to remember about my father was his love for paintings. He collected books about them and always took me and my mother to art museums every year. During his last year alive, he painted for someone else besides a family member to earn some money; but they hated it and told him he was no good at it."

I handed the canvas over to Claire taking it running her fingers smoothly on the dry paint. "He never did like drawing faces, the anatomy of people or Pokemon, he said he was never good at it. I had almost forgotten those days spent with him as a child, back then I said I hated going to the museums, but now… I hate how I acted around my father and his hobby."

"Do ya think someone you knew left it there recently?" Isaac asked scratching the back of his head. Claire shook her head,

"I don't know, but I am going to look into it on who left it there. Thank you for finding this." Claire smiled at us, "Now go on and rest up back home Zack, you'll have to look your best for when you return. And you two; Sakura and Isaac, take care."

We left Claire after saying our goodbyes. She stood there with the canvas with the note in her hand we found with it. "Father…" Claire sighed before returning back inside the building.

After two years of trying to find clues, suspects or anyone who could've left that painting there remains a mystery even to this day, all except for one; immediately after the attack with Castelia city, a corpse was seen walking around Nimbasa city near Join avenue, but never attacked anyone believing this to be some hoax. Claire had run tests on the painting and the DNA found on the Canvas was that of her father. Claire at a time refused to believe he was alive, let alone as one of the Reanimated corpses that attacked Unova. But in a way, she wanted to believe that her father painted that painting, that he had regained control of his reanimated corpse self somehow, and that this was his way on saying goodbye.

End of Side Story

* * *

Extra: Conversation with Dr Guard continued (Recorded Session 1 month after the downfall of Team Annihilation)

Voices identified as: Lee and Dr Guard

Session recording length: 000:02:35 (Two minutes and thirty-five seconds)

*Tape starts* The sound of walking can be heard in the background. Lee clears out his throat before speaking to Dr Guard.

"So doc, heard you found some interesting documents right from Annihilation's ruined HQ, that true?"

Silence for 10 seconds. The sound of multiple sheets of paper can be heard crinkling.

"As a matter of fact; I have found so much information about the Reanimated corpses, Team Annihilations true goal, and of cause Zack Raines. Which do you prefer to hear first?"

"Hmm… well, how 'bout the kid, what have you found about him?" Lee clears his throat before sighing deeply. "Last we spoke, you said I think along the lines 'We should keep out eye on the boy.' or something similar to that."

The paper is placed on top of the desk; Lee takes a few documents from the pile and begins to read out what has been discovered.

"Zack Raines, a boy who was born in Undella town 14 years ago. His mother was named Megumi; she was a police officer working for Undella Town Police Department. Megumi met Zack's father in the hospital after receiving an injury in a robbery. Zack's father, Richard was a doctor working in the same town as Megumi."

"Megumi and Richard had children together. They lived there until Annihilation had found them after they 'betrayed them' in some way… the details aren't specific on what they did to betray Annihilation."

"Team Annihilation knew the Raines family, how though? Where they allies, friends or did they work with them?" Lee asked raising his voice slightly.

5 seconds pass until Lee begins.

"They didn't work with them, but it would appear that Juro had interacted with them on more than several occasions. Perhaps they somehow discovered he was Annihilation's founder, maybe."

Dr Guard clears his throat and shuffles through the papers.

"Continuing on, When Zack Raines was brought back to life by accident, several tests were initialized to check whether or not his body changed in some way, from deformities to irregular behavior."

Silence for a 6 seconds pass, sounds of multiple footsteps can be heard.

"Lee, do you remember what Billy told us after patching up Zack when returning to base?"

"I do, he mentioned that his injuries would've killed him if he didn't receive treatment on time."

"True, but I read in a file concerning the Reanimated corpses; the corpses can survive harsh conditions and survive a significant amount of damage that would otherwise kill a normal living being. In Zack's report he mentioned that after Latias had injured him he was left with multiple injuries from head to toe. Billy had told me that anyone else with Zack's injuries, they would not be able to stand."

"So what are you saying? That Zack has what those corpses have? An immunity to pain?"

"Of cause not, well not entirely. I have a theory that since Zack was brought back to life unlike the many corpses that revived into the monsters they were, I believe that Zack inherited their ability to ignore intense pain explaining how Zack fought off Juro. His minor injuries however were found to be healed upon arriving at base to the point of appearing as a few days old scab."

"An ability like that… does he know about this?" Lee moves his chair slightly upon asking the question. Silence quickly follows for 10 seconds.

"He does not, I believe it would be best for Clark to be informed of this information immediately. As for Zack, I believe we should not tell him of this information as of now. We must continue to monitor him for the time being."

Tape skips ahead, unknown length.

Lee asks the doctor as music can be heard on a nearby radio. "So what is this anyway? This 'Doom Project' Annihilation cancelled recently?"

"If you look closer right about here… it says 'Should main base fall, 00 must pick up project or else 01 will act.'"

"This Doom Project, what is this anyway?"

A piece of paper can be heard crinkling. Dr Guard ends the tape with,

"Doom is a project that involves seven members so far all involved with Team Annihilation. Past employers, children of an Annihilation agent or enemies turned allies. One named caught my attention… it was Cornelius."

"Cornelius? Wait a minute… that crazy- He's with Annihilation!? I thought he died 10 years ago..."

*Tape ends*

Actions taken:

Case reopened No.455073 'Cornelius S'


	42. Side Story 02 Bikes

Side Story 02/05 – Bikes 

**Black City – Set 5 hours before leaving the city**

Walking through Black city once more before we had left to arrive at Castelia city to report in and for both Sakura and Isaac to go our separate ways, Isaac brought us to the shopping district he and his friends used to go after school to hang out.

The shopping district was crowded, full of people and different Pokemon travelling with their trainers coming out of various stores and cafes.

"This place has excellent items for the remainder of our walk to Castelia city. Things like Potions at half price, rations for both us and our Pokemon, and some other trinkets and stuff." Isaac smiled taking the lead as we walked through the street as he glanced at a few stores now and then remembering the times he used to walk through this way long ago.

Isaac stopped looking around the street, "Wait a sec! Where was it? I'm pretty sure it was right about here… or was it back there in the other street we passed before?" Black city smaller than Castelia city, but unlike Castelia; Black city had more streets leading to many other streets, including dead ends.

"Isaac, what shop are you looking for?" Sakura asked him gaining his attention as he turned in her direction shaking his head. "There was this trainers store me and my friends used to go to a lot, a Pokemon trainer could get a lot of stuff there such as clothing and such, I wanted to restock on some repels here before leaving. Ah screw it, let's just go somewhere else to resupply."

Our walk through the city streets lead us to a few dead ends, we did manage to find a store or two that did sell the repels Isaac had wanted to buy from the trainer store, 50 PDs more than the trainer store (I think.)

* * *

 ****

 **Black city – Edward's Bike and Bike Accessory Store**

Just to kill some time while we walked around the city we had entered a random bike store near the end of the street. The sign outside read out 'New store' and 'Opening week sale' so we assumed this place had just opened for the public.

The store was like your typical bike store, bikes, rows and rows of bikes on one side of the store, and an assortment of accessories on the other. Sakura and Isaac spread out the store, walking over to one of the aisle of bikes for sale I noticed a sign hanging above 'Custom made bikes' in fact; all of them did. All of the bikes shelved there were different sizes than the last, but only the same color, black.

"So youngin' what do ya think of these bikes I have for sale? Pretty hip 'eh?" Looking over my shoulder past Dewott resting on my shoulder was an elderly man wearing sunglasses and a red baseball cap. He wore a green shirt with multiple palm trees scattered around. Gray shorts and a pair of sandals, some kind of summer wear I'm guessing.

"I noticed the sign above the bikes, custom made?" I asked pointing at the sign. The man looked up at the sign and smiled. "Why yes, I built these bikes with my own two hands. Crafted them, painted them, and even tested them. Especially the bikes for the little ones."

"So uh, are you gonna buy one? How 'bout your friend's? They interested on buying a bike or two? Heck, how about purchasing a helmet and or a bike horn to attach, eh?" He asked in a pleading manner, but I shook my head.

"We're just browsing." The old man which I assumed to be Edward sighed and walked over to one of the tricycles displayed on one of the shelves.

"Everyone who has entered this store told me the same thing… almost everyone."

"What do you mean?" I asked him as he now placed his hand on top of the tricycles handlebar. "I opened this store about 6 days now, sure the first day attracted about 40 customers… but I never did sell one bike or one biking accessory."

I looked around the store again especially at the bikes. Maybe since the bikes were the same color, that the customers didn't like them? Having more bikes of a different color was probably what he needed.

"Well uh… have you ever thought that maybe the problem is with the bikes? I mean the color that is?" I said looked back over my shoulder at all of the bikes of the same color.

"I… I'm uh- I guess what I am trying to say is that I am… color blind. Yeah, I hate admitting that, so I chose the only shade I know and stuck with that for all bikes I made… I guess I should make them different colors, each bike with their own unique shade of coloring, different style and funky patterns you youngin's are so hip about." Edward then made this odd pose by tightening his left fist and angling his arm upward into an 'L' shape and placed his other hand on top of his arm. This confused me to the point almost questioning his sanity, but I just ignored it.

"So kid, you and your friends wanna help me out designing some funky cool bikes for the store?" He smiled shifting his baseball cap a little to the side.

"Uh, s-sorry but we're kind of in a hurry. You see we have to get to Castelia-" Edward cut me off as he grabbed my arm.

"Yeehaw, let's go and make us some kick ass bikes!" He shouted ecstatically pulling me in the direction of both Sakura and Isaac checking the accessories not noticing Edwards fast approach.

"Zack, what's going on- ah!" Sakura said before looking over her shoulder as he picked Sakura up over his shoulder and then ran over to Isaac noticing how he was grabbing both of us. Isaac backed up into a corner with his arms waving out front.

"You touch me old man, and I swear I'll send you back to the museum where you belong ya old fossil!" like me and Sakura, Edward had easily grabbed Isaac by the back of his jacket collar lifting him with ease and ran with all three with us into the garage area where he had crafted all the bikes he had displayed on his shelves, to the ones he had in stock.

Strong guy to carry all three of us like that, huh?

* * *

 ****

 **Black City – Edwards Bike Store – Garage**

So after a good 20 minutes later to explain to both Sakura and Isaac about why Edward suddenly ran up to them and picked them running to the garage only accessible from behind the counter.

The garage was a small area that could fit a large van or two small vans depending on the stock I suppose. A few workbenches had either painting equipment on one, and the other tools for creating new bikes. The shelves near the door of the garage contained small boxes of biking accessories ready to be placed in store, along with the finished bikes also ready to be set up in store… after they were painted that is.

"So uh, here are a few pieces of paper and pencils for all of you so together we can create some cool designs for the bikes." Edward passed us pieces of paper and what he claimed was a pencil turned out to be nothing but a pen.

Isaac leaned over towards me and whispered, "Man, what is this, School? Sorry old timer, but I have already lived that torturous life already." Isaac attempted to make his way over to the door to leave, but Edward easily pulled him back over to where we were standing.

"Okay, I'll have my own set so I can help with the designs. Please, no gore, bloods, violence, drug references, swearing, or mature content. Keep it age neutral for the customer." Edward smiled and showed us to the desks where we could draw our designs.

"So we're just going to do this then?" Isaac protested finally sitting down on the desk chair placed at the edge of the desk beside us. "Cause we really need to-"

"BEGIN!" Edward declaring as loud as he could and started drawing some designs on the paper excited for the finished product.

We weren't artists, but we tried at least to help get our ideas out there. Designs of color patterns, symbols such as iconic Pokemon, the Pokeball, badges from the Unova region.

We tried weather styles such as lightning and rain mixing blue; for the rain and white; for thunder, sunny weather giving us a warm orange/red style bike design.

Sakura even designed a pirate theme with skull and crossbones for the front giving the frames a wave design with gold coins scattered. Even Minccino and Dewott helped out by just drawing circles and blobs similar to paint splashes, Edward liked the idea of that one, and so he painted the design on one of the bikes.

We told him with every bike he wanted to paint what colors we thought would work best for each of them. Over 40 bikes were repainted in the span of 3 hours with the help from all of us and set to dry.

* * *

 ****

 **An hour and 30 minutes of intense waiting later**

After the painting of the 40 bikes we left to dry out Edward made for us a mug of hot chocolate, including both Minccino and Dewott. Isaac complained about how too hot his one was, then sighed and started complaining about how his spine was killing him from the lack of support from the stools.

"Despite my color blindness… not sure if that is a word or not, but I want to thank ya'll for all ya done. I sure hope that these new bike designs will attract a good amount of customers." Edward smiled before chugging down a full mug of hot chocolate, didn't even react once to it.

"So old man, what made you start up a business here in Black city?" Isaac asked still trying to drink from the mug but kept getting burnt on the lips too much. "Ah! Dang this stupid drink… being all hot and all…"

"Glad ya asked me that there kid, *hack*….. I just like bikes and so one day I earned enough cash and started up my own bike store."

"Hold the phone for sec!" Isaac sighed pinching his nose between his eyes. "You're telling me that you out of so many people we have encountered on our journey that doesn't have some strange/deep background? You just want to do this because you like it?"

Edward laughed, "Not sure what kind of bizarre people you have met down the road, but I'm just a regular old common tree within a forest, no special story or unique past about me that would gather tourists from around the world to hear. I'm just a regular joe."

Edward gave off one final look at the clock hung up on the garage wall. His hands started to shake, he swallowed before standing up. "I guess it's time to start placing them bikes up on display now… here's hoping."

* * *

 ****

 **10 Minutes after setting up the bikes**

Edward stood behind the cash register waiting patiently for the entrance door to open and for a customer to walk in and possibly purchase one. The three of us pretended to be customers browsing the store also waiting patiently for someone to walk in, we stayed like that for about 20 minutes or so.

Edward looked down at the cash register and removed his cap from his head sighing in defeat. Sakura walked up to him placing Minccino on the counter.

"Edward, I'm sure if we wait long enough, someone's bound to enter and purchase something from here."

Edward looked up at Sakura and weakly smiled, "Thanks miss, but I'm starting to think this whole bike selling thing was a huge mistake."

"*Sighs*… I have been trying so hard to get where I am. It's like trying to climb a mountain, sure it's hard work and all, but then you finally reach the top… there is nothing there, no beautiful horizon for me… just a thick dark fog that will never go away."

Edward sunk his head onto the register covering his face with both hands whilst sobbing silently. "Thanks for your help kids, at least ya tried…"

*creak* the door of the stores entrance opened, stepping inside were 5 men wearing some kind of sporting gear. Followed behind were a couple with their 2 children running inside to take a closer look at the bikes stored up front.

"Whoa man, dis store is totally whack!" One man out of the 5 said to the other. Isaac stared with an eyebrow raised at him after hearing him say 'Whack' and muttered slightly, "Huh?"

Edward slowly looked up after wiping away the tears from his eyes now starting to fill with hope. But the longer he waited for one of the customers to select a bike or accessory to buy, the more his hope drained.

"Hey this one is pretty cute." A little laughed pointing at the white bike with the multiple splashes of color around the frame and handle, it was the one Dewott and Minccino had made from before. Isaac heard this and rolled his eyes trying to prompt the other customers to pick his one he had designed from before; his bike design was a lime green with an herb on the frame. Isaac claimed that the design was based on the herb that allowed him to communicate with other Pokemon, but it looked liked something else… yeah. Edward from before we had started the designs told us not to use a drug reference, but since Isaac convinced him of the design, he let it slide.

3 of the 5 men walked up with the bikes they had selected from the shelf near the front window to the counter and wanted to purchase them. The girl had asked for the Dewott and Minccino bike smiling at her as she begged for them to buy it for her, they did.

It wasn't just 4 bikes that were sold that day, but all 40 designs had been sold, and many customers had requested for Edward to design their bikes for them.

Sure this may seem like some kind of miracle and that about 70 or so people wanted a bike on that day of Edward's bike were redesigned. When the final of the 40 bikes had been completed and Edward began painting, I stepped out for a while claiming to use the rest room and called the Lee from the Saviors requesting assistance to help Edward by attracting some customers that would want to purchase a bike within Black city.

Confused at this for a while, Lee agreed and told me that he would do his best to find as many people as he could within the city that wanted a bike ASAP.

When the bikes were fully dry and ready to be put up on shelves, I was worried there for a moment thinking that Lee couldn't find anyone and that Edward would either have to wait for customers a little longer.

As soon as the last customer had left, Edward turned to us as we approached him, he smiled. "I don't know how I can ever thank you kids enough for helping me out today…" Edward began tearing up and smiled, "Thanks."

Edward placed his hand into his shorts pocket and pulled out three documents with our names on, "The designs from before, I took the liberty on keeping three of those designs just for the 3 kids that helped out someone like me. Whenever you'd like, just call and I'll have those bikes shipped out for ya'll."

"Thank you Edward." I said smiling, "Good luck on the store." At that we had left the bike store leaving Edward of Edward's Bikes and Bike accessories a man whose horizon at the top of the mountain was once a foggy one, now but a beautiful sight.

Edward's bike store later became successful for over 50 years, becoming the most popular bike store in the Unova region. Edward after 2 years of his success sadly passed away but before passing his store onto one of his family members that continued to create and design amazing bikes that lasted for a long time.

End of Side Story 02/05

* * *

Trivia:

This side story was going to appear as part of the main story but to me, it was kind of difficult to determine where to put this in the main story.


	43. Side Story 03 A Fragment

Side Story 03/05 – A Fragment 

**Nuvema town 1 week after returning home**

Returning home after being away for so long, I took a walk around the town for a while. Being in that bed resting up for the past few days I wanted some fresh air once, be able to stretch my legs.

" _Maybe I should go check up on my Pokemon at the lab for a while? I wonder what they're up to."_ I thought as I continued to walk through the busy streets aware that some of the people were stopping and staring at me mouths agape.

Oh yes me, one of the 'Heroes of Unova' was walking down the street as the newspaper and media have mentioned about me along with Sakura, Isaac and all of our Pokemon were treated like celebrities ever since Team Annihilations downfall. It was strange at first how so many people I don't even know suddenly walking over to me asking me for an autograph or photo with them. Even a few past students and teachers from my old school praised me for defeating Annihilation. They tried to speak with me like I was there friend and such, bringing about old memories of events that I never witnessed, so I just smiled and nodded in the end.

" _I have to admit it that it is good to be back home where I wouldn't have to worry about Team Annihilation anymore or a random bad guy trying to either kill or rob from us."_ I thought as I continued to walk past the people still staring at me.

 **Nuvema town - Pokemon Laboratory Garden**

The garden was filled with many Pokemon belonging to different trainers playing, eating or just sleeping together. Rarely interacting with any other Pokemon from a different trainer, but when they did it was mostly positive.

Walking by other trainers Pokemon that either ignored me or ran away from me, I found myself near the gardens lake where my Pokemon often hung out from playing a little, skipping stones across the lake, and sometimes swimming in it.

Sitting close to the lake were Totodile and Bayleef affectionately holding one another as stared out into the lake at a floating leaf in the middle. The two have been in a relationship for quite some time now, I wondered if they would have children of their own one day.

Golurk alone lying down on its back looked up at the sky staring at each cloud to see if it made a shape of some kind. After its friend Lugia had left, and returning home, Golurk had been silent for a while. It often spent its time alone during the day and night. But after a while, Golurk returned to its… uh, talkative state it once was in. (Golurk doesn't speak much, so its talkative state is when it exceeds 2 minute or more in conversations.)

Latias however was a small distance away from the lake on top of a small hill lying down frantically searching for something. After a short moment she noticed me standing near the lake gesturing with her paw for me to come over, so I did.

"Hey Latias, what's up?" I asked her still looking everywhere for something, I stepped closer placing my hand on her wing causing her to stop to look at me with worry. "What's wrong?"

"Laaah! Laah…." She said fast, and so I waited. Then with a sudden realization that Isaac wasn't there to translate that time, I guess it was back to charades, pointing and guessing again.

Latias realized this to and instead pointed towards the woods section towards the northern section of the gardens, a place where the bird types liked to spend their afternoons or nights at. So we walked there to find out what Latias had seen from the woods.

 **Nuvema town – Pokemon Laboratory Gardens – North section/woods**

I had never been in this part of the garden before; it was just one of those parts of the garden that I never had a reason to go into, like a few other areas suited for other Pokemon of different types.

Walking through this section of the garden was like walking through your average everyday woods route, but this area was a little more peaceful without having to worry about a wild Pokemon or two emerging from the bushes to fight with you.

Latias took the lead as we traversed through the woods hoping that with each step we would get closer to finding what Latias had saw earlier. She of cause on a few occasions glanced back over her shoulder to check up on me or to hurry me along.

The search eventually reached its end by the time we had walked about 10 minutes in after reaching the large fence surrounding the gardens, Latias had found what she was searching for.

"Laaah!" Latias smiled happily giggling to herself when picking up the object she had seen earlier drift away. The item she had seen earlier was in fact a balloon, a Latias balloon with a red cape… yeah; it was that super hero Latias liked.

"That was it? That's what you were worried about?" I asked walking up to her as she played with the balloon, "A balloon? A geez… made it look like you saw something… anything."

Latias stopped playing with the balloon after it had begun to deflate, she had accidentally pierced the balloon with one of her claws which upset her. Latias allowed the balloon to fully deflate on the ground. As soon as the balloon had deflated, Latias had begun to stare at the balloon beneath her and started to cry.

"What's wrong?" I asked standing besides her placing a hand on stroking her alongside her wing, she didn't respond. It could've been many reasons, a balloon she had saw drifting away in the form of her favorite character from a tv show wanting to take it back home with her deflating, did it remind her of something from the past?

"Did you want to take that home with you?" Latias shook her head. I was surprised by that, never had she ever been the one to refuse a Super Latias product before, especially if she already owned it. I didn't know why she was upset then, or what I could say to cheer her up.

So instead I held her paw and guided her away from the deflated balloon so we could return home, not to the lab, but back home with me.

* * *

Latias after seeing the balloon reminded her of an old memory she forgot a long time ago. It was one of the scariest moments in her life when she saw it first happening to her. Before escaping Annihilation HQ when the Pokemon imprisoned there had found a way out, Latias' mother had defended her in aid of her two daughters escape, only one did, Latias did.

Latias, she noticed the protect her mother had used on her had failed by the time she had reached the hole in the ceiling to escape Annihilation, she looked back hoping that her mother and sister was following behind her, but they weren't. Latias' mother had been shot dead by Annihilation soldiers within seconds when they had entered the room. Her mother never focused on her own survival, only her two daughters as one of them had escaped.

Shiny Latias was the only one alive in that room surrounded by Annihilation soldiers while her sister Latias was frozen in place unsure what to do, she didn't want to leave her mother like that.

The soldiers noticed her above and were ordered to fire, with her senses returned she had fled the building as fast as she could in any direction she could think of eventually finding a forest. For hours she had flew as fast as she could, north, west, anywhere she could hope to escape from the soldiers that were still on her trail. She had flown so fast that she flew head first right into the base of a large tree collapsing to the ground.

Latias had then later regained consciousness, but she had no idea why she was lying there in the forest as it began to rain heavily. She then saw the soldiers off in the distance behind her, not knowing who they were or what they wanted, she began to fear them, there shouting and flashing lights. And so she continued to do what she had forgotten, she started to fly away as fast as possible in the direction where we would meet for the first time.

If I had known then what she was crying about, what she had remembered, I would've hugged her instead of just guiding her away from the balloon. We would've talked about things I guess. About how we had a past like that in common and that she could always come to me to talk to, as I would her.

End of Side Story 03/05

* * *

Trivia:

This section was going to be included for chapter 40 at the end somewhere, but to me it didn't feel like an epilogue to a story, more of a filler section… I don't know.


	44. Side Story 04 Sarah

Side Story 04/05 – Sarah 

**A small unnamed village north near Opelucid city – Dewott's POV**

For some reason we had taken a slight short detour before reaching Opelucid city, not sure why though, maybe to see the sights maybe? It was Sakura who told us about this village. Apparently this small village is about a few years old, it's lesser known than the other locations within the Unova region so it doesn't get that much attention, only a few visitors here and there.

The village was a quiet small peaceful place surrounded by large pine trees I think that's what they are called, and also the path was clean surrounded by the greenest grass I had ever saw. I didn't want to touch it for how green it was people could get mad at that for some reason… *sighs* freedom denied I guess.

There was a small park right beside a restaurant where few people and their Pokemon were playing together, and that's when Isaac had to say; "Cool, a park. Let's go over there and just take a rest for a while. My legs are killing me today…" Zack and Sakura agreed and walked over there, but if they hadn't, if they continued to wander around the village for a short while before heading off towards Opelucid I would never had met her…

Zack, Sakura and Isaac had sat together after releasing the other Pokemon causing them all to speak at the same time like they sometimes did; 'Yay!' 'Where's the food' 'My legs hurt' 'Ya…' and a random scream from one of the three Pokemon in the 'Weird ones' group.

Latias was lying next to Zack and the other two joining in on their conversation, Totodile was alone taking a nap, Golett and Lugia were in a heated discussion about…rocks. Yeah, it must've been a very serious conversation (!) not. Chikorita was off by herself a few feet away from the group frowning again, so I guess I was alone for today and went for a little walk by myself around the area. 

I had walked until I had reached a small playground-like area with a swing set, some kind of large spinning disk thing, (not sure what they are called) a large slide and a large jungle gym all with a large amount of children running and playing with their Pokemon and parents.

Standing there after watching the children continue to play I noticed away from the park and over the parks fence from a house window a young girl with a straw hat on top of her head watching from afar. I flinched at her sudden movement as she noticed me staring at her, I couldn't tell what expression she was making, but she waved at me and I did the same after I had looked around from where I was to see if it was someone else she was waving at. She then made a gesture for me to come over, and so I did. It couldn't hurt right?

* * *

By hopping over the fence of the park and rushed through the thick bushes that would eventually lead me to the girls back garden, I noticed the door of the house open up slightly, not enough for me to see her face, only the hat she was still wearing.

After emerging completely out of the bushes she opened the door a little more kneeling down on both knees and again gestured me towards her. From where I was in the garden I could see her face a little more clearly. A young age, perhaps 6-8ish maybe older, her face was slightly pale; her eyes were darkened, not because she had been hurt, she looked like she hadn't been sleeping much. Besides the straw hat, she was wearing a blue dress with a large sun image near her chest.

I walked over to her stopping when I had approached the door; she shyly held her hand out to pet me, seeing as though she didn't look harmless I let her. Letting her pet my head she let out a soft giggle with a big grin across her face.

"Hello there." She said still smiling now stroking the top of my head where the larger fur had stuck up. Smiling, I replied knowing that she couldn't understand me, "Hello to you to. That's a pretty looking hat that you got there." That's when I noticed it, the girl had no hair, she was bald.

"Sarah, what are you doing out here? You're going to get sick again." A man appeared from another room kneeling down next to her, and that's when he noticed why his daughter had opened the door for, I stepped back a little.

"But daddy, I saw the Dewott outside by the park. Can I keep him?" The girl's father chuckled slightly and shook his head, "We can't keep the little guy, and he probably belongs to someone else." The girl frowned sadly then quickly said, "Can he at least play with me for a while?" the father sadly looked at his daughter again for a while, then back at me.

"Do you… want to play with her for a while?" I smiled and gave a quick nod that I would. I didn't mind playing for a while. I'm sure by the time the others at the park decide to leave, playtime would already be over.

Without warning, Sarah suddenly picked me up inside the house and ran as fast as she could, ignoring her father's warnings of not running inside the house.

* * *

Sarah's room was surrounded by many toys, mostly plush toys and a doll or two on top of her small lavender bed. I walked over by the window and climbed up on top of her desk beside her window that faced the park. Sarah walked over to me and we watched the park together.

From this high up I could see a good amount of the park; the playground area where I saw Sarah looking at me from this window, even the entrance of the park. Zack and the others I couldn't see since some areas of the park where hidden behind the trees, so I gave up trying to find them. 

"Is it nice outside?" Sarah asked as I looked up at her still facing the park, "it looks nice, I wish I could go… but I'm too sick." When she said that, what her father said to her by the garden door that she could get sick again, and her being bald, I was confused at what illness she had. Even if she could understand me like that 'Weird one' could, I doubt she could tell me what it was.

"I went to the hospicle (Hospital was what she was trying to say) last week. Daddy said it was to help me get better." Sarah coughed a little, slightly tilting her head to the side as if she were dizzy. I gave her a small hug as she in returned hugged me back. She returned to normal after a while and sat down on her bed and picked up a small thin book offering to read it to me.

It was a children's story she read to me about… hmm, what was it? Oh right! It was a story about a family of four having to move away to another region. I think towards the end it taught the reader about not having to worry about starting a new school/career, meeting new people in a completely new environment. The story ended with the children of the storybook making new friends and still staying in contact with the old ones.

The next book we read together was about a young girl who I had pointed out that looked exactly like Sarah was called, uh… 'Red coated girl…' uh, 'travels in forest' I don't know.

Basically; it was all about a girl wearing a red coat who had to travel to her grandma's house to give her grandma some food by her mother, and a Houndoom was the antagonist of the story… seeing that Houndoom drawn to that of a 5 year old reminded me of the Houndoom that killed my parents from when I was young. But I refused to let that get in the way and let Sarah continue reading.

After the reading, Sarah gently set both of the books to the side of the bed climbing down with me in her arms and we played with the plush toys together. Sarah told me what we were going to play, she told me that the plush toys set off together to climb a large mountain, (her bookshelf) and plant the makeshift flag she created with a small crayon and triangular shaped piece of paper attached.

She gave the plush toys certain kinds of voices to determine the genders; high for female, and deep for male. For the villains of the story, she used a pack of 52 playing cards also giving them voices all the same. 

It was a bizarre story line that didn't make sense half the time, but I was happy to play with her enjoying her smile and laughter… that is until she started coughing up, that's when playtime was all over.

Sarah had coughed heavily; they were light at first until they progressed into a harsh sounding cough causing her to clutch at her chest then collapsed to the floor still coughing. Panicked, I ran for the door and managed to open it with help from my scalchop and ran to find Sarah's father. 

Her father had quickly run up to her room with me a short distance away, he then pulled out his phone to call for an ambulance. They showed up after 10 minutes, and I watched them carry her to the ambulance park right outside the house, watching her father get inside and then driving away leaving me there on the porch.

* * *

Returning to the park again, I saw that my trainer and the other Pokemon here still here in the same spot I last saw them in. After remembering how Sarah had coughed liked that worried me, I wanted to do something, anything to help. So a thought came to mind, 'Why not make her one of those flower hats?' once I had saw Sakura make one sometime after leaving Driftveil city not too long ago, remembering how she crafted it into a hat/crown.

Sitting down near a pretty flowerbed all white petals Sarah would've liked, I started making her the crown. Difficult as it was, I still tried to finish it. It didn't matter to me that the crown was a mess; it was the thought that counted, right?

After a good hour I had finished with the crown, proud of my work and effort I carefully walked over to Sarah's house finally stepping up to the front door. I didn't think of asking Zack to help out which hospital Sarah had gone to, I assumed she would be back sometime soon, but I couldn't wait any longer. 

Setting the crown at the foot of the door I said looking at the flower crown. "Get well soon Sarah, goodbye." And I left the house to return back to the park not knowing later that day… Sarah had died. 

If I had known that today was her last day… I don't know what I would've done different. Playing with her in the last two hours was nice; she laughed and smiled a lot. At one time during our playtime, I noticed Sarah's father peek through the door smiling at her. If I hadn't shown up, if I hadn't decided to wander off away from the others to find Sarah waving at me through the window, what would her last day be like? I'm glad that we met and played together that day, I just wished we could have more time.

Sarah… I'll always remember that name. That's why I named you after my daughter.

End of Side Story 04/05

* * *

Trivia:

This Side Story was going to be about Zack and Dewott spending time together at the lab were Dewott revealed his origins at the lab and how he spent his days there.


	45. Side Story 05 Resting

Side Story 05/05 – Resting 

**Nuvema Town – Zack's house / Room**

Sleeping helped, being in a place so familiar to me set my mind at ease. My injuries, the smaller ones had healed up completely. My deeper injuries had healed up nicely, but not enough for the pain to go away completely… ugh.

Being back home allowed me to talk with a woman whom I had called mom for the past 10 years almost 11. Ayaka explained to me why she didn't reveal to me about how I was adopted before; she told me she had wanted to tell me when the timing was right. When I started to join the Saviors she felt that it would become difficult to say anything not wanting the whole adoption thing to affect my performance.

Ayaka adopted me after she and my step-father Henry were having some trouble on having a child, so they instead they decided to adopt me welcoming me into their home as if I was there real child, they still continued to treat me like their child even after Yuri was born.

It was nice returning back here fearing that things would've been awkward to still look at Ayaka and call her mom like nothing had changed, and that she was still my mom, and Yuri was still my sister. I think that was one of the reasons I worried about before returning to Nuvema town through route 01.

As for Henry, he continued to tell Ayaka that he couldn't show up for another three months and had to work twice as much to meet the 'company's' deadline. I wasn't sure what company he worked at or what he did for a career. I think I did ask once or twice to Ayaka; office work? A salesman maybe, I don't know.

He had rarely shown up at the house to either spend an hour's worth of time with us or two depending on his schedule. He was so busy, away from home all the time that Ayaka didn't even care that he had to go. Yuri and I were the same; every time he tried to interact with us it would become awkward at times. To us we were talking to a man similar to that of a stranger, to him he treated us like his two best friends in the same room with him…

Lying down on my bed I turned to the window trying my best to look outside without hurting myself. I noticed the raining from last night had ended by the time I woke up. _'I would've liked to have seen it… I heard the thunder last night; it was so late… thought I could wake up in the morning to see it still raining.'_ I thought shifting away from the window to look down at the end of my bed where Latias usually slept, but wasn't there this time.

Ever since we had got back, Latias had thought that her being controlled by Annihilation to attack me would cause both Ayaka and Yuri to mistreat her or see her as some kind of monster, thankfully they didn't but Latias was still anxious for almost a week being around them half the time. She was scared that one false move and they would get mad at her or bring up what they did to me.

Latias had been spending her time to herself at the laboratory with the others, sometimes using that opportunity to take a late night flight above the town or return home to sneak around (Thanks to Yuri for telling me about this at one point.) stealing some leftover food and a book to read at the laboratory.

Looking at my alarm clock on top of my bedside desk I noticed the time was about six in the morning. Everyone in the house would start getting up at about 9 or 8.30.

' _I think this afternoon I'll go to the lab and check on my Pokemon. It's been a while since I last saw them.'_ After that thought, I started thinking about both Dewott and Lugia.

The people Dewott went the P.C.T. sent a letter about him and Meowstic's progress so far; the two are getting along really well and they have told the team that they are in love with one another. Chances of having children together are very high and any further updates will be mailed every two weeks. The other four Pokemon after discovering that Dewott was gone to start a family with a female Meowstic without saying goodbye to them was a little sudden I explained to them, they understood and let it slide.

Lugia, I has happy that Lugia managed to find Pokemon it could travel with. I was worried for it for a few days after it had left, but in the end I wasn't. I had hoped that one day during my future travels that we could meet up again so I could tell Lugia about… well I guess I could just do some catching up first; pretty sure Lugia would like to hear about my recover stage back home.

And with that, I breathed in and out now relaxed in my bed, and went back to sleep.

End of Side Story 05/05

* * *

Trivia:

This Side Story was going to be about the trio hunting down undead that escaped the Unova region and eventually found one on an island resort. 

**AU: Thanks for reading the last Side Story. I know this chapter was short but that was all i had for this chapter, well i guess you can say i was lazy about it, haha.**

 **The sequel Pokemon Dreams 02 – Till the End of Time will be up very soon (Next week possibly) feel free leave a review and as always, until next time.**


End file.
